


What Will it Be? Head or Heart?

by lilwasabi



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Clexa, ClexaENDGAME, Cops, Detectives, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Love, Medical, Minor Character Death, Police, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:53:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6745687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilwasabi/pseuds/lilwasabi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lexa Woods has been working with the LAPD for about a year. Her partner and cousin, Anya Forrest, convinced her to join the force after she left the Army. It didn't take her long to become one of the best detectives in the city. Smart, witty, and headstrong, Lexa could take on anything that came her way. That is until she meets a certain blonde doctor, Clarke Griffin, in an alley. Secrets are revealed and major criminal activity soon gets uncovered when these two women continuously cross paths. What ensues afterwards is a long conflict within Lexa to choose to follow her head or her heart. Can she finally choose her heart over her head?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting in Strange Places

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time that I have written fan fiction; sorry if it sucks. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE TAGS! I enjoy angst but don't worry, there's a lot of fluff that follows. And I will say this, there's going to be a lot of action (I'm better at writing action scenes than drama) and you may hate me for some chapters but just remember, CLEXA is END GAME!!! I hope that you guys will join me on this adventure as I try to salvage what the 100 has greatly screwed up.
> 
> Let the journey begin!!!

Street lights shone down brightly on the roads of LA. It was a fairly quiet night for the city. Smoke billowed from the manholes as cars and people passed one another on the streets. Music could be heard from various restaurants and bars but it was not deafening like a concert would be. In the background up on the hills, the Hollywood sign could be seen in the background of the hills. Everyone was enjoying the peaceful night until a loud commotion and screams filled the streets.

A tan car swerved around the street corner followed by an unmarked police car, the lights flashing and sirens blaring. Both cars came barreling down the road, other cars trying their best to avoid them. In the tan car was a man, his teeth clenched as he tried his best to lose the person on his tail. In the other car was a woman, long blonde hair and brown eyes. She grabbed for the car walkie-talkie on her dashboard.

“Lexa!” she said a little annoyed. “He’s coming up Johnson. Cut him off!”

She replaced the walkie-talkie back on her dashboard and pressed her foot on the gas pedal even more; the sirens continued to blare.

Up ahead on the street, another unmarked police car came speeding towards the tan car head on. Neither car was slowing down. The entire street had been cleared of other cars; the police car and the tan car continued to speed towards each other. They were almost bumper to bumper when the suspect’s car jerked to the left and smashed into a pole.

The police car stopped a few feet away. A woman exited the car, gun drawn. She was dressed in black slacks and a somewhat fitted white V-neck. A small bit of a tattoo could be seen under the sleeve of her right arm. Her long brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, her green eyes piercing through the darkness. The other police car that had been chasing the suspect came to halt next to her. The brown-eyed blonde joined the green-eyed woman, gun drawn as well, as they approached the tan car.

“Nice driving Lex! They don’t teach you that in the academy.” The brunette said.

“Well, you know how it is, Anya.” Lexa replied. “You either get run off the road or you do the running.”

The two women shared a small smile until a man got out of the tan car. Blood was dripping from a small cut on his forehead, his brown hair was in a frenzy. Anya grabbed the man and slammed him against his crushed car, cuffing him. He didn’t look to be any older than Lexa and Anya.

“Hey!” the man yelled. “Watch it lady! I need a doctor! Can’t you see I’m bleeding here!”

Lexa rolled her eyes as she put her service weapon back in its holster. “Oh, you’re fine! It’s just a scratch.”

The man glared at Lexa and managed to get out of Anya’s grasp. “You crazy bitch!” He said as he charged at Lexa. “You could have killed me!”

Lexa dodged the man’s attempt at tackling her and pinned him to the ground, his face colliding with the cement of the street.

Anya smirked. “You really have a gift with people, don’t you?”

Lexa shrugged her shoulders. “I try.”

Anya yanked the guy off the ground and read him his rights as she put him in the back of her cruiser.

_DING!_

Lexa grabbed her phone from her back pocket and glanced at it. She read the text and looked up annoyed.

“Hey, Lex. Are you coming?” Anya asked from the driver’s side of her car.

Lexa put her phone back in her pocket before looking at Anya. “Yeah. I’m right behind you.”

“Who was that?”

“What?” Lexa asked confused.

“The message Lexa. Please tell me it’s not her again.”

Lexa scoffed. “It’s not.” She said unconvincingly.

“You know I can tell when you’re lying.”

“It’s nothing Anya.”

“She’s got you wrapped around her finger.”

“No she doesn’t!”

“Right. Sorry. She’s got your…“

“Anya!” Lexa yelled cutting her partner off. “Please, don’t make a sex joke right now!”

Anya laughed. “I’m just messing with you. But seriously, you guys need to figure out whatever it is that’s going on between you two.”

Lexa rolled her eyes.

“Hey!” The man in the back seat yelled. “Are you two idiots done flirting?”

“Shut it!” Anya yelled back. “I’ll see you back at the precinct. Call the boys to come and clean up this mess.” She got in her car and drove away with the suspect.

Lexa took a deep breath and pulled out her phone again. She made a call to the precinct, asking them to send a few officers and CSU to the scene. After a few minutes on the phone she put it back in her pocket and leaned against the hood of her car waiting.

 _What am I doing?_ Lexa thought to herself. Her mind began to race with different thoughts. _Anya’s right. She’s always right. I hate it when she’s right. Why is my life so complicated?_

Ten minutes passed before she was drawn out of her thoughts by a horn from an approaching police cruiser. Lexa smiled as two men in police uniforms exited their vehicle. One of them was a tall, tan broad man. His muscles bulged from his uniform making it look rather small on him. The name pin on his uniform was _L. Barrows_. The other man was slightly shorter than his partner with darker skin, short hair, and a little bit of facial hair. His name pin read _N. Miller_.

“Hey Detective.” Miller said as he approached her.

“Miller. Lincoln. Took you two long enough. I have a suspect to interrogate.”

“Chill, Commander.” Lincoln said. “You know we’d show eventually.”

Lexa smiled. “You stopped at Grounders didn’t you?”

“I was hungry!” Lincoln defended. “And you of all people know how good those burgers are.”

“That is true, but I usually don’t eat three of them at the same time!”

Lincoln raised his arms and flexed his muscles. “I’ve got a lot to keep up with.”

Miller laughed. “Greasy food has nothing to do with your physique.”

“Ok guys. I’ll leave you to gather up any evidence you can.” Lexa said as she opened her car door.

“Why do you always call on us to clean up you and Anya’s messes?” Lincoln asked jokingly.

“I’m trying to help you guys get promoted! I know you both have been working really hard to become detectives. Just trying to help out where I can.”

“Thanks Commander. Always looking out for us.” Lincoln looked at the crushed car and whistled in fascination. “We’ll see if there’s anything we can get out of this piece of junk. What were you and Anya doing? Trying out for the new Fast and Furious movie?”

“Ha ha.” Lexa said sarcastically. “Very funny. I’ll tell you after I interrogate the suspect.”

“Good luck Detective.” Miller said as he moved towards the crushed car.

“See you back at the precinct.” Lincoln said as he joined his partner.

Lexa got in her car and headed down the street.

* * *

The 13th precinct was bustling with officers, detectives, and other suspects. Files were scattered over many desks and phones were ringing from every direction. LA never slept, especially when over zealous paparazzi were being brought in every other minute.

Lexa got to the precinct about thirty minutes after leaving Lincoln and Miller. She could have walked back in a shorter amount of time; LA traffic sucked, even at 11PM. She headed to her desk and threw her leather jacket on the back of her chair. Her desk looked like everyone else’s: full of files, sticky notes, and a cup or two of cold coffee. She shuffled through the files and papers on her desk, but couldn’t find what she was looking for. A look of confusion came across her face until she saw a frustrated Anya walk out of an interrogation room. Anya walked over to her desk which was attached to the front of Lexa’s.

“You started without me?” Lexa asked confused.

“You were taking too long and we needed answers.” Anya said placing the file Lexa had been looking for on her desk.

“What’d you learn?” Lexa asked as she picked up the file.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing! How is that possible?” Lexa asked quirking her eyebrow.

“His lawyer showed up about a minute into the interrogation. He’s going to walk. Can you believe that?”

“We have evidence of his fingerprints all over the murder weapon and the body!”

“His attorney argues that he was trying to help the victim and that he mistakenly touched the murder weapon.”

“That’s bull!” Lexa said angrily.

“There’s nothing I can do! The captain came in with a message from the District Attorney’s office. The fucking DA is protecting this scumbag!”

Lexa groaned and rubbed her hands over her face before looking at Anya. “Now what?”

“Since all we have are fingerprints there’s nothing we can do. There are not witnesses or video to help our case.”

Before Lexa could say anything else, the captain, a young woman, and the suspect came out of the interrogation room. Lexa and Anya approached them as they heard the end of the trio’s conversation.

“We’ll be in touch Captain Indra.” the woman said.

The woman looked at Lexa and Anya. “Detectives.” she said coldly. The woman was young for a lawyer, probably the same ages as Lexa or Anya. She was dressed in a white button-down, covered by a navy blue blazer and pencil skirt. Her hair was black and pulled into a neat bun. Her eyes were dark and void of any emotions. She continued to glare at the two detectives until the man spoke.

“Are you guys actually qualified to be detectives?” he smirked. “Can’t even do your job correctly.”

“Murphy!” the lawyer scolded.

Lexa and Anya glared at the man named Murphy trying their best not to provoke him anymore.

Lexa couldn’t hold it in though. “Don’t worry Mr. Murphy. You won’t be free for long.”

Murphy’s smirk turned into a smile. Before he could respond, his pit-bull of a lawyer stepped in.

“Are you threatening my client, Detective?”

“No. I’m simply making an observation, given your client’s rap sheet.”

The lawyer cleared her throat. “I think we’re done here.” She turned to look at Indra releasing her cold gaze from Lexa. “Seems like your detectives could use more training, Captain.”

And with that she headed for the elevators, flanked by Murphy. Lexa and Anya followed. As the elevator doors opened, Murphy turned to face the them.

“See you around detectives.” he said with a smirk

Lexa and Anya stared at Murphy and his lawyer until they disappeared behind the elevator’s closing doors. The two women were very agitated and continued to glare daggers at the elevator that had take their guilty suspect from them.

Their gaze was quickly drawn to a booming voice behind them. “My office, now!” Indra barked at them.

They walked to Indra’s office, which was located not too far from the interrogation rooms. Indra was seated at her desk as the two of them entered, Anya shutting the door behind them. They stood in front of Indra’s desk waiting quietly for someone to speak. No one did. Indra looked tired and annoyed. She didn’t make eye contact with either of the two detectives as she shuffled through papers on her desk.

“Captain…” Lexa began.

Indra raised her hand to cut her off. “This case has turned into a real shit storm.” Indra said, finally looking up at them.

“Who was the lawyer?” Lexa asked. “I don’t see how a guy like John Murphy could afford her. He owns a rundown bar!”

“That was Ontari Queen.” Anya answered. “Her whole family is comprised of lawyers and their firm one of the most prestigious in the LA area.”

“That was a Queen?” Lexa asked surprised. “How did a firm like her get mixed up in our small case?”

“All she said was that it was pro bono work. You know the whole deal. Big bad lawyers representing the little people.”

“Is that how the DA’s office got involved? Because her mother is the ADA?”

“Yes.” Indra said. “But that’s not the main problem right now.”

“What’d you mean?” Anya asked.

Indra took a deep breath and continued. “Ms. Queen is suing the precinct and is trying to get the DA’s office to launce an investigation into how we run things around here.”

“What!?!” Lexa and Anya exclaimed simultaneously.

“Mr. Murphy claims that you,” Indra pointed at Lexa. “Assaulted him upon arrest.”

“Are you kidding me!” Lexa said angrily. “He was resisting arrest and charged at me! I didn’t do anything that was out of the scope of my duties!”

“I understand that.” Indra said. “But Ms. Queen is filing a restraining order against you and wants you off the case and everything related to it.”

“Captain, you know this guy is guilty.” Lexa said annoyed.

“Despite what I think, my hands are tied.” Indra rubbed her forehead. “You both know we’ve had similar problems in the department, and it won’t take much for the DA to find sufficient grounds to have us investigated. Which is why, Detective Woods you will be taken off the case.”

“But Captain…” Lexa was cut off again.

“You’re not allowed anywhere near Mr. Murphy or his establishment. Am I clear?” Indra gave Lexa a stern look.

“Perfectly.” Lexa muttered and with one final glare at Indra she left the office.

Indra took a deep breath and looked at Anya. “Please look out for her.”

“Always.” Anya replied. “But you know how difficult she can be.”

“That I do.”

“Don’t worry Indra. I’ve always got her back.”

Indra nodded and went back to her files as Anya exited the office.

Anya looked around the bullpen and found Lexa at her desk, her head buried in a file. She walked over to her own desk and sat down quietly just staring at Lexa. Lexa didn’t make eye contact with her and continued to look at the file in her hands.

“I don’t want to hear it An.” Lexa said sourly.

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Anya replied raising her hands in defense.

Lexa set down the file and looked at her partner questionably. “You’re giving me the look.”

“What look?”

“The look you always give me when you think I’m going to do something reckless.”

“Are you?”

“What?”

Anya sighed. “Are you going to do something stupid? Because I’m really tired of saving your ass.”

Lexa rolled her eyes. “No, I’m just frustrated.”

Anya nodded in response but still kept the same look on her face.

“And you don’t always save my ass.” Lexa quipped. “I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around.”

Anya laughed. “That’s so not true. You get yourself into more trouble than me.”

“It’s not my fault I’m better at this job than you.”

Anya wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at Lexa, who easily dodged it.

“Seriously, Lex. It’s just a small case. There’s plenty of other exciting things going on in the city.”

“This case is different. I don’t know what is it but something’s not right.”

“Is it your gut telling you that?”

“Hey,” Lexa said pointing at Anya. “Don’t make fun. It’s never let me down.”

“Yes, we’re all aware of your famous gut feelings.” Anya said smirking. “But you aren’t allowed near this case.”

“Anya, you can’t expect me to just sit on my hands while you work this case by yourself!”

“I won’t be alone. I’ll get Lincoln and Miller to help me out. It’ll be good for them.”

Lexa looked back down at the file and didn’t say anything.

“Lexa,” Anya’s voice was now calm. “Just step away from this. I’ve got it under control.”

Lexa looked at her sternly. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Lexa, now’s not the time to be stubborn.”

“I’m not being stubborn!” Lexa retorted.

Anya laughed. “You’re the most stubborn person that I have ever met, not to mention very annoying.”

Lexa smirked. “What would your life be without me?”

“Quiet.”

Lexa smiled. “Then you’d just be boring. Admit it. Without me, your life would be incomplete.”

“Whatever.”

They both smiled at each other and let a calm silence spread over them. Anya watched as Lexa continued to study the file. She knew that no matter what she did, Lexa would find a way to stay on the case.

“If Indra finds out,” Anya relented. “She’ll have your badge.”

“Well, then let’s make sure she doesn’t.” Lexa said closing the file and tossing it to Anya. She stood up and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair.

“You coming to Grounders tonight?” Anya asked as she stood from her desk and collected her things.

“Not tonight. It’s been one crazy night. I’m just going to head home.”

“You want me to give you a ride?”

“I’m good. You know my place is only a fifteen-minute walk from here. Besides, it’s a nice night out.”

Lexa smiled at Anya and gathered the rest of her things before saying goodbye and heading to the elevator.

* * *

Lexa pulled her leather jacket on as she started to walk away from the precinct. She undid her ponytail and ran a hand through her hair releasing the tension that it had caused on her scalp. She took a deep breath of the fresh LA air. One thing she loved about LA was the weather. She wasn’t a fan of the cold but it didn’t bother her too much. The streets were still calm as Lexa continued on her route. Her eyes wandered the roads as she watched cars pass each other and people disappear into various buildings. She enjoyed walking to her apartment on nights like these. Her mind began to fill with the events of the day and she found herself conflicted about her decisions. She managed to quiet her mind, but it only lasted about a minute before her thoughts bombarded her again.

 _Why can I never catch a break?_ She thought. _Maybe coming back wasn’t such a great idea. Well, I’ve been through worse, right?_ Lexa took a deep breath as she continued walking. _Maybe after this case I should take a break, get away for a bit._

She continued her silent debate with herself until she heard shouting. It sounded distressed and grew louder as she quickly made her way towards the commotion. She was alert now, trying to find the source of all the yelling. As Lexa rounded the corner of a building she came upon an alley where two figures were standing. The alley wasn’t well lit but Lexa could see that a guy had shoved a woman up against the brick wall.

Lexa walked over to them, one hand hovering over her holster and the other holding up her badge. “LAPD!” she yelled.

The two figures looked up and saw Lexa striding towards them. The man remained where he was, not making any effort to move away from the woman currently pushed against the wall.

“Officer,” the man said. “This is just a simple disagreement between me and my girlfriend.”

Lexa didn’t believe that at all. “It looks like more than just a small disagreement.”

As Lexa glared at the man, she could only make out a few features. He was about the same height as her and had shaggy hair that stopped right below his ears. He was dressed in what appeared to be a cheap gray suit. She couldn’t get any more details about the man due to the poor light, but she did notice the man’s firm grip on the woman’s wrist. Before she could say anything else, the woman spoke.

“Finn!” the woman yelled. “I’m not your girlfriend anymore. Leave me alone.” She struggled against his grip.

Lexa sensed the annoyance and slight fear in the woman’s voice. She stepped closer to the pair, slowly trying to get between them. “Sir!” she said with force. “Please remove your hands from her and take a few steps back!”

The man named Finn didn’t budge. He ignored Lexa and continued to glare at the woman against the wall.

 _Is this guy deaf or something?_ Lexa thought to herself.

“Sir!” she said more harshly, tinged with annoyance. “If you don’t remove yourself, I will arrest you for assault!”

There was a brief silence before Finn shifted his eyes to glare at Lexa and then back at the woman. He released his hold of the woman and held his hands up in defense, walking back a few steps.

Once he had created some distance from the woman, Lexa went to check on her. The woman was dressed in scrubs and a zip-up jacket. An ID badge hung around her neck but Lexa couldn’t see what it said. The woman had long curly hair that fell just below her shoulders.

“Are you ok?” Lexa asked.

“Yeah.” The woman whispered as she rubbed her wrist.

Lexa turned to focus on Finn again. “I think it’s time for you to go home, sir.”

Finn was fuming with anger and it didn’t go unnoticed by Lexa. She was used to dealing with men like this, most of the time they were drunk.

“Fine!” Finn exclaimed. He continued to glare at both women as he slowly walked backwards to the street. “We’re not done talking Princess!” And with that last remark, he got into a car and drove off.

 _What a dick_. Lexa thought. She immediately drew her attention back to the woman who looked frozen in time, despite her constant shivering.

“Hey,” Lexa said calmly. “He’s gone now.”

The woman remained silent, her face staring at the ground.

Lexa continued. “You’re safe now. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” She placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder who immediately stopped shivering.

The woman lifted her head to see Lexa smiling back at her.

“I’m Detective Alexandria Woods.”

The woman simply nodded in response.

“You can call me Lexa though.”

Again the woman nodded.

Lexa didn’t know what else to say. She was trying to get the woman to say something, anything. She wasn’t comfortable when it came to silence. All of a sudden her stomach began to growl.

“Sorry.” Lexa said hastily as she rubbed the back of her head. It was a good thing that there wasn’t much light in the alley because her face had flushed with embarrassment.

The woman let out a soft laugh and Lexa could see a slight smile on her face.

“Do you…want to go grab a coffee or…something?” Lexa asked. “There’s a place about two blocks from here.”

“Sure.” The woman said.

“Ah, so she does speak.” Lexa said jokingly.

The woman smiled again. “How about we go get that coffee.” She paused. “And something for you to eat before your stomach eats itself.”

Lexa blushed again, thankful for the dim lighting before making her way back to the street, the woman trailing behind her.

* * *

 

The walk was short and neither of the two women spoke or looked at each other. They came to a building with large windows that allowed you to see the interior of the café. The bright lights of the café streamed through the windows and onto the sidewalk. The sign above the door and windows was illuminated and read _Ark Café_. Lexa was the first to the door. She opened it and allowed the other woman to walk inside first, following closely behind.

Once they were inside and sitting across from one another at a small table by the windows, Lexa could finally make out the features of the woman. The woman’s hair was blonde and shaped her face perfectly. Her skin was fair and her cheeks were slightly pink due to the cool air outside. Lexa’s eyes shifted to her lips; they were plump and glistening. She looked up to the blonde’s eyes and became completely lost in them as the blonde stared back at her. Her eyes were a magnificent blue like the sky on a warm sunny day or the vast blue ocean on the coast of every beach. The two continued to stare into each others eyes, green fusing with blue. The silence would have usually made Lexa uncomfortable but she felt relaxed at this moment. Their staring was shortly interrupted by a waitress. They put in their orders and were pulled back into the silence when the waitress left.

 _Well, this just got awkward._ Lexa thought to herself. The silence was slowly becoming uncomfortable for her; it was nothing like the moment they had shared before. She began fumbling with her hands in her lap and looking anywhere but at the blonde.

“Thank you.”

Lexa looked up at the blonde. “No problem.” She said. “I mean, it’s kind of my job.” She smiled.

The blonde smiled back and reached her hand across the table holding it out for Lexa to shake. “I’m Clarke by the way, Clarke Griffin.”

Lexa took Clarke’s hand and shook it. Her hand was soft and Lexa held on to it for longer than she probably should have.

She released the blonde’s hand and leaned back in her chair. “It’s nice to meet you Ms. Griffin.”

Clarke laughed. “Please call me Clarke, Detective. Ms. Griffin makes me sound like an old lady.”

Lexa chuckled. Clarke was definitely not an old lady. “Clarke,” she liked the way the blonde’s name rolled off her tongue. “You mind sharing what you were doing in that alley with such a douche bag?”

Clarke’s smile faltered a bit before she took a deep breath. “I was taking a quick break from my shift and my ex happened to show up while I was out.” Clarke didn’t know why she was sharing this but it felt good to get it out. There was something about Lexa that made Clarke feel at ease and when they had shaken hands, a feeling of warmth had filled her body.

Noticing that Clarke didn’t really want to talk about what had happened, Lexa quickly changed the subject.

“So, Clarke. What do you do for a living?” Lexa asked. She already knew the answer due to Clarke’s outfit and the badge that hung around her neck.

“I work at LA Medical.” Clarke answered, thankful for the change in topic.

“Ah, Dr. Clarke Griffin.” Lexa said coolly. “Fancy.”

“Doctor?” Clarke quirked her eyebrow. “I didn’t say I was a Doctor. How do you know I’m not a nurse or something?”

“Lucky guess.”

Their waitress appeared with their coffees and a sandwich that Lexa had ordered. Clarke continued to give Lexa a look as the waitress walked away.

Lexa laughed. “I saw your badge, Doc.”

Clarke looked down at her chest. She had forgotten that he I.D. was around her neck. “And here I thought you were psychic.”

Lexa smiled.

They made small talk and it didn’t take Lexa long to finish her sandwich. She had completely devoured it and Clarke laughed at her the entire time. They felt at ease with each other even though they had met less than an hour ago.

Lexa learned that Clarke was originally from the D.C. area and moved to California to attend Stanford. While she liked medical school and her profession, she still made time for her passion for art. Lexa couldn’t help but smile as Clarke described her art; she could tell that Clarke’s art was a very important part of who she was. Something about the blonde made Lexa want to tell her everything, every little detail of her very complicated life.

She found herself telling Clarke about growing up in the LA area and attending UCLA. Initially she had majored in international studies and planned on going to law school, but that didn’t exactly work out. She joined the military halfway through her senior year of undergrad and was shipped off to Afghanistan right after graduation. Clarke was surprised by this revelation but didn’t press Lexa for any more details.

Clarke was finishing off her coffee when her pager went off. She looked down to her waist where it was attached. “Duty calls.” She said looking back at Lexa.

Lexa nodded her head and dug around her pocket for cash as they both stood up from the table. Before she could set the money on the table, Clark stopped her.

“This is on me.” Clarke stated. “It’s the least I can do.”

Lexa was about to protest but Clarke had already given the money to the waitress who came to clean their table.

“Thanks.” Lexa smiled. “Shall we?” she said motioning to the door.

Clarke and Lexa stood outside of Ark Café, neither of them saying anything. Clarke didn’t want to leave Lexa but she was needed at the hospital.

“Do you mind if I walk with you?” Lexa found herself asking.

Clarke quirked her eyebrow.

“I live just past the hospital.” Lexa quickly added. “Plus, I want to make sure you don’t get into anymore trouble.”

Clarke blushed. “I guess I wouldn’t mind you tagging along.”

The walk to the hospital was brief and both women were just enjoying the night out. When they reached the front of the hospital neither of them moved. They looked into each other’s eyes again and became lost; a smile began to form on each of their faces.

“Thanks, again.” Clarke said.

“Well, thank you for the coffee.”

“It was the least I could do since you dealt with my dickhead ex.”

Lexa laughed. “I’m always here to save pretty girls from assholes.”

Clarke tried to hide the growing grin on her face.

 _Did I really just say that?_ Lexa thought to herself. _Real smooth Lex._

“My knight in shining armor.” Clarke quipped.

Lexa rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at her feet as Clarke’s pager went off again.

“I better get in there.” Clarke said unenthusiastically while glancing down at her pager.

“Yeah.” Lexa replied. She didn’t know what else to say. Was it wrong to ask the blonde for her number? _Yes!_ Lexa thought. _You barely know her!_

Clarke waited for Lexa to say something else but when the brunette didn’t budge she turned around to walk into the hospital.

“Clarke!”

Right before she was about to pass through the hospital doors, she turned around to see Lexa standing only a foot away. She felt warmth radiating off of Lexa and wanted to be even closer to it.

Lexa reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card.

“Here’s my number.” Lexa said while handing the card to Clarke. “If you need anything or need someone to talk to… well…you can call me.” Lexa stumbled to finish her sentence.

Clarke took the card that read _Detective Alexandria Woods_ and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Well,” Lexa began. “Go save lives.”

Clarke laughed. “I plan on it.” She looked back up into Lexa’s green orbs and couldn’t help but smile. “Goodnight Detective.”

Lexa became lost in blue and returned the smile. “Goodnight Doc.”

Lexa stood at the hospital entrance as she watched blonde hair disappear into the building, a smile still plastered across her face.

* * *

 

The last few minutes to her apartment were spent with images and thoughts of the blonde she had just departed. A huge smile was still visible on her face.

_At least my night ended well._

Lexa entered her apartment complex and took the short flight of stairs up to the second floor. The complex was small with only about five apartments on each of the four floors. Lexa enjoyed the limited amount of apartments in the building; it gave her more privacy than she actually needed but also a good amount of living space.

She made her way to her apartment, which was located on the opposite side of the stairs at the end of the hallway. The day had been a tiring one and all Lexa wanted to do was crawl into bed and pass out. She slipped her key into the lock of the door and entered her place, locking it back once she was inside.

The apartment was dark except for the small amount of light that peaked through the curtains of her windows in her living space. The kitchen was located on the right, just past the entrance. The living space was very spacious and plain. A single couch and coffee table were set up in the middle in front of a TV that was mounted on the wall. There was a door on the left of the mounted TV that led to a second bedroom; Lexa had made it into a guest room, but it barely got used. On the wall behind the couch were a few picture frames but nothing too exciting. Lexa’s room was located just past the kitchen and behind the couch.

Lexa began emptying her pockets, tossing them haphazardly onto the kitchen counter. She took her service weapon out of its holster and began to walk towards her room to put it in her safe. When she got close enough to her bedroom door she heard running water; it seemed to be coming from her bathroom. _What the hell?_ She thought.

She slowly raised her gun and opened the door. Her bedside lamp was on and her bathroom door was shut. _I did not leave that on._ Lexa quickly scanned her room to see if there was anyone lurking there, but it was empty. With her gun still raised she slowly walked to the bathroom door. She reached for the handle, but the door immediately opened from the other side revealing someone wrapped in a towel.

“SHIT!” The person yelled.

Lexa’s grip on her gun tensed but then relaxed when she saw who it was.

“What the hell!” Lexa exclaimed. Her gun still slightly raised.

“Can you put that down please!”

Lexa dropped her gun to her side and ran her other hand through her hair. “Costia! Jeez! What are you doing here?” she said a bit aggravated.

“I texted you!”

Lexa took a deep breath and walked over to a chest next to her bedroom door. She opened the top drawer where her small safe was and punched in a code, placing her gun inside.

“Sorry,” she said as she closed the drawer. “I forgot.”

“Did you?” Costia asked as she leaned against the door frame of the bathroom.

Lexa rolled her eyes. “I did. But I also chose to ignore it.”

“Someone’s grumpy.” Costia said sarcastically.

Lexa sat down on her bed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m tired, Cos. Can you please just go?”

“Sure.” Costia replied.

“Than—“ Lexa was cut off.

“After, I take a shower.” Costia continued as she dropped her towel.

Lexa looked up at her, mouth slightly open.

Costia smirked and slowly made her way back into the bathroom. “You’re more than welcome to join Lex.”

Lexa roughly laid down on her back and stared at the ceiling, groaning. She took a deep breath and looked at the bathroom where Costia had disappeared into.

“I’m gonna regret this.” She mumbled to herself as she got off the bed and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI Costia is not a bad person in this fic. She may be annoying but is not meant to hurt any of the characters.
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr


	2. Surprises, Surprises!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More characters are introduced! Yeah, that's all I've got to say about this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I have absolutely no idea how to write a short chapter. So, updates will probably take a while since I put so much in one chapter. I CAN'T HELP IT! Once I start writing, I never know how to end! Also, I don't really know much about LA so just bear with me when I talk about locations in or around LA.

Clarke was laying on her stomach as she woke up to sunlight on her face. She had gotten back to her apartment late and was happy to sleep in. Today was one of the few days that she finally had off; it had been a long time since she had a free day. She was content with just staying in bed the entire day and catching up on some much needed Netflix time.

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Her shift last night had been

exhausting. There was always some idiot who needed to be stitched up because of a poor attempt at making a viral video. People were always trying to find ways to stardom; that’s LA.

More of last night’s events started to fill Clarke’s mind until the only thing she could think of was green eyes. A wide smile began to form on her face. Her dreams had consisted of images of the beautiful brunette. As soon as she had seen those green eyes in that café, she was put in a trance. Lexa was gorgeous; you would have to be blind not to see that.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when someone came barging into her room.

“Wakey, wakey Griffin!”

Clarke groaned and threw her pillow over her face. It was quickly yanked from her grasp. “Raven!”

“Come on, Clarke. Up and at ‘em!” Raven said clapping her hands together.

Raven had dark brown hair that looked almost black; it was pulled into a neat ponytail and matched her soft brown eyes. She was wearing a loose white t-shirt and olive green cargo pants, a brace on her left leg. She stood above Clarke and waited for the blonde to move.

“It’s my day off! Leave me to my bed and the TV.”

“No can do. We have plans, plus I made you food.”

Clarke could smell the food wafting into her room and her stomach growled. She gave Raven a confused look and sat up against her headboard. “I have no plans for the day, Rae. You know I haven’t had a day off in months.”

Raven grabbed Clarke’s hand and dragged her to the kitchen table despite Clarke’s constant complaining. “I know it’s been a while since you had time to yourself, but I have a surprise for you later.”

Clarke raised an eyebrow as she was forced into a chair.

Raven rolled her eyes as she sat across from the blonde. “It’s not something that’s going to explode.”

“Raven,” Clarke said seriously. “The last time you had a surprise for me, you almost burnt our apartment down!”

“Hey,” Raven said innocently. “It was your birthday. You either go big or go home.”

“If I didn’t own a fire extinguisher we wouldn’t have a home right now. Plus, who puts rockets on a cake!”

“They were just supposed to add a little more pizzazz to your cake.” Raven defended.

Clarke gave her an annoyed look while shoveling some eggs into her mouth.

“Ok, so maybe I went a little over the top with the pyrotechnics.” Raven said as she chewed on a piece of toast. “It was just a simple miscalculation. They weren’t supposed to go flying around the room.”

Clarke shook her head but couldn’t fight the smile on her face.

Raven may be crazy some times but Clarke loved her best friend. They met at Stanford their sophomore year and became fast friends. Raven had double majored in mechanical engineering and physics; to say she was a genius was a grave understatement. She finished her degrees within four years and started her own company shortly after graduation. Raven was too smart for her own good. Reyes Inc. was a very successful software and technology company in LA. They did a lot of free lance work and even had some contracts with the military.

Raven enjoyed her company but hated the politics involved with it. Most of her time was spent in the labs creating outrageous inventions or helping out her employees with their projects. A work injury to her leg had hindered her mobility but that didn’t stop her from doing whatever she wanted. No one would ever find Raven Reyes sitting behind a desk; creating a fire, yes, but never sitting in an office chair doing paperwork.

“I thought you were working today.” Clarke said.

“Called in sick.”

Clarke chuckled. “Raven, you’re the damn boss.”

“Exactly!” Raven said. “I can do whatever the hell I want. Also, I don’t think my new receptionist knows who I am. You know I never actually go to my office.”

“Didn’t you hire her?”

Raven shook her head. “Nah, someone in HR did. I just signed off on it.”

“Please tell me you don’t have that poor girl just working outside an empty office.”

Raven shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not empty. There’s a desk and chair inside.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and took a drink of her orange juice.

“So, who’s Alexandria Woods?”

Clarke choked on her juice as some of it dribbled down her chin. “What?!”

Raven grinned mischievously and held Lexa’s business card in her hand. “What’d you do this time, Clarke?”

“Nothing.” Clarke said unconvincingly.

“Mmhmm.” Raven said reaching for her phone with her other hand. “Well, if you won’t tell me, maybe Detective Woods will.”

Clarke shot up out of her chair and reached across the table for Raven’s phone but Raven was too quick. She started backing away from Clarke and punched Lexa’s number into her phone as Clarke rounded the table.

“Raven!” Clarke exclaimed while trying to reach for the phone. “Stop!”

“I wanna know who this chick is.” Raven said as she continued to evade Clarke, hitting the call button and turning on the speaker.

Clarke became flustered and charged at Raven, tackling her to the couch. The dial-tone of the phone continued to ring.

“Give me the damn phone, Rae!”

Raven kept the phone out of Clarke’s grasp. “Come on, Clarke. It’s just an innocent phone call.”

“Hello, this is Detective Woods.”

Clarke and Raven stopped squirming for a minute as they heard the voice through the phone.

“Hello?”

Clarke snatched the phone out of Raven’s hand and quickly hit the end call button. She still had Raven pinned to the couch and began swatting at her arm.

“Hey, hey!” Raven exclaimed trying to push the blonde off of her. “Don’t abuse the cripple!”

“What the fuck!” Clarke yelled as she stood from the couch. “That was a dick move Reyes.”

“Lighten up Griffster.” Raven said as she sat up on the couch. “Now tell me why you have a cop’s card. You get arrested? Did she have to search you for weapons?” Raven smirked.

“You have a really dirty mind.” Clarke said annoyingly. “I met Lexa last night.”

Raven smiled. “Oh, it’s Lexa now.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and sighed as she took a seat next to Raven. “Finn cornered me in an alley last night.”

Raven’s demeanor quickly changed. “I’m gonna kick that boy’s ass!” she said angrily. “What the hell happened?”

Clarke rubbed her forehead. “He just went on about the same old things he usually does.”

“He wants to get back together.” Raven stated, clearly knowing that it was the right answer.

Clarke didn’t understand why Finn kept trying. It had been a few years since they broke up. Clarke left him for a reason. At one point, she had loved him but he eventually began to poison her life and relationships with everyone else. Specifically, her relationship with her father. The breakup wasn’t very amicable, but Clarke believed that they could stay friends; she was mistaken.

“I don’t know why he keeps bothering me. You would think the last time he confronted me he would leave me alone.”

Raven laughed. “Finn just doesn’t approach you if I’m around. I mean, I did almost blow him up.”

Clarke smiled. “Which is why I love you.”

“How does Lexa fit into all of this?”

“I was out taking a break from my shift; it was such a crazy night. I took a walk to clear my head and next thing I know, Finn is standing in front of me.”

“Stalker much.”

Clarke glared at her.

“Anyway, so he starts yelling at me and drags me into the alley. I can’t even remember what he was saying really. I went to leave but then he pushed me up against the wall. That’s when Lexa showed up and intervened.”

Raven’s demeanor changed back into one of anger. “He touched you! Now that boy is just asking for it.” She got up off the couch and walked to her room.

“Raven, what are you doing?” Clarke asked curiously.

Raven walked back out with a few gadgets in her hand. They didn’t look too friendly.

“What’s with all the tech?”

“Oh, this junk?” Raven asked holding up a few things in her hands. “Nothing, really. Just going to make a little gift for Finn.”

Clarke’s eyes grew wide and she jumped off the couch, grabbing the stuff out of Raven’s hands. “You are not going to build a bomb.”

Raven tried to grab her stuff back but Clarke held them out of her reach. “Clarke!” Raven whined. “I’m just trying to teach him a lesson.”

“And I thank you for that.” Clarke said placing the items in her hands on the coffee table that was in front of the couch. “Yes, Finn is an asshole, but I don’t want to see you get dragged off to jail for it.”

Raven slouched her shoulders in defeat. “Can I at least…”

“No.” Clarke said cutting Raven off.

“Come on, Clarke! Not even…”

Clarke cut her off again. “If it’s anything closely related to something illegal, the answer is no.”

Raven huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine. But if I see his face on the street, I will punch him into the next century.”

Clarke laughed. “Noted.”

“I’m going to have to send my thanks to this Lexa person. Otherwise, who knows what that dickhead would have done to you.”

Clarke’s mind wandered to memories of last night, remembering the way Lexa had looked at her with such concern and the way that Lexa’s hand had felt on her shoulder. Her thoughts were clouded with images of beautiful green eyes. A smile slowly started to form on her face.

Raven smirked. “She must have had some effect on you.”

Clarke snapped out of her daze and gave her a quizzical look. “Who?”

“Detective Woods!” Raven stated. “I haven’t seen you smile like that in a long time.”

“She was just doing her job. Plus, I probably won’t see her ever again. That is unless you get arrested for doing something stupid.”

Raven laughed. “You never know. I’m full of surprises.”

“That you are, Reyes.”

Raven gave her a smug look before placing her hands on Clarke’s shoulders and pushing her towards her room. “Now, get dressed. My surprise can’t wait forever.”

“Can I at least have some hint as to what it is?” Clarke asked, even though she knew the answer.

“Nope. But you’ll thank me later.”

Clarke gave her another annoyed look before entering her bedroom to get ready for Raven’s questionable surprise.

* * *

 

“Look who decided to finally show up.”

Lexa gave Anya an annoyed look before taking a seat at her desk. “I was out doing things.”

“You mean doing someone.” Anya quipped.

Lexa went to make a snarky comment, but she knew that Anya wouldn’t believe her. “So what?”

“What’s the deal with you two anyway? Are you back together?”

Lexa rolled her eyes and shuffled through the files on her desk. “No, we’re not back together.”

“So, it’s just sex?”

Lexa looked up from one of the files and gave Anya a stern look. “It’s complicated.”

Anya sighed. “It always is with you.”

Lexa scoffed. “Anything new from our case?”

“My case.” Anya corrected.

“Technicalities.” Lexa said waving her hand.

Anya opened a folder on her desk a retrieved a photo, placing it in front of Lexa.

“What am I looking at?” She asked.

“I had forensics monitoring the street cameras overlooking Murphy’s establishment.”

Lexa looked down at the photo. It was a grainy blown up image that pictured the front of Murphy’s bar. It wasn’t a very large building and looked very rundown. Lexa could imagine what kind of clientele the place garnered. Off to the side of the building there stood two people. Murphy was facing towards the camera that part was clear. But the other man had his back to the street cam. The other man was dressed in a suit and had short hair. He was much taller than Murphy. It was hard to see any other details because of the quality and the lack of color. Lexa took note of the time stamp on the photo.

“This was taken after he left the precinct.” Lexa stated.

“Correct. You can watch the video but there’s nothing interesting on it.”

“What about the man talking to Murphy? Were you able to get a different angle of him?”

Anya shook her head. “No. With all the access we have to the surrounding street cams, it didn’t pick up anything else. All the other footage we have of our mystery man is in poor quality. I’m trying to see if forensics can enhance the video anymore but I don’t think they will be able to.”

Lexa nodded in understanding. “So what did you get from the footage? I know you wouldn’t just hand me some random photo without a purpose.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “Murphy and our mystery man started to argue. It got pretty heated because he shoved Murphy against the wall. It looked like the man was threatening him.”

“I’m guessing no witnesses to this incident either.”

“None.”

Lexa took a deep breath. “What’s our next move?”

“We’re going to continue to monitor all of the cameras and see if our mystery man comes back to visit. Besides that, there’s nothing more we can do.”

“What of Ontari?”

“She hasn’t returned to Murphy’s bar since dropping him off last night.”

“And I’m assuming she hasn’t dropped the ridiculous investigation against the precinct either?”

“Indra is going ballistic. She’s having to deal with the mayor, the press, and the constant calls from DA Jaha.”

“I wish there was something we could do.”

“Yeah, stay out of it and continue on with our other cases.” Anya said sarcastically.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

Lexa looked at her phone but didn’t recognize the number on her screen. She pressed the answer button anyway.

“Hello, this is Detective Woods.”

There was no sound from the other end.

“Hello?”

Still nothing. Lexa took the phone away from her ear and glanced at the screen. She was about to say something else into the receiver but the other person had disconnected the call.

“Who was that?” Anya asked.

“No idea.” Lexa replied. “Probably just a wrong number.”

“Well, we’re pretty much in a waiting game. Let’s see what we got.” Anya said.

Lexa flipped through the files on her desk again and tried to focus on anything but Murphy’s case. This mystery man could be just what they needed to get Murphy behind bars.

* * *

 

“Rae! Come on.” Clarke whined. “You know I hate surprises!”

“But you’re going to love this one.” Raven assured her.

They were walking down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It was bustling with activity. Tourists were everywhere and there were multiple groups of people surrounding various display windows of the boutiques. People were sitting outside the many restaurants and others had their hands full with shopping bags.

Clarke thought she knew Raven’s surprise but once they got in the car and Raven instructed her to drive towards Beverly Hills, all guesses went out the window. It took them a while to get to their destination due to the horrific traffic but some time later, here they were. They had been to the area a few times but rarely made it out to the high end city. It was an upscale shopping and dining complex that wasn’t really Clarke or Raven’s scene. Sure, they could both afford most anything, but they preferred to hang out at Ark Café or their local club, the Dropship.

Raven led them to one of the upscale restaurants, Polis. The name was written in cursive with gold lettering on top of the door. The outside of the restaurant was very simple with black sleek walls and clean tinted windows. Raven pretty much skipped to the front door and held it open for Clarke who was dragging her feet, but she didn’t enter the establishment.

“Let’s go Griff! Move it!”

Clarke stopped in front of the door and crossed her arms over her chest. “What are we doing here Raven? We literally just ate before we left the apartment.”

“Well, if you step inside, you will soon see.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and huffed before entering through the door. “I can’t believe you dragged me all the way out here for some fancy food.”

“Stop your complaining.” Raven said as she followed Clarke into the restaurant.

Polis was like any other fancy restaurant: excessive dim lighting, weird abstract paintings and objects, waiters and waitresses in formal attire, and of course snobby obnoxious patrons. Since it was just a little passed noon, there was quite a few people sitting at the various tables enjoying their lunch. Raven walked up to the hostess desk as Clarke took a seat on one of the benches by the doors.

 _Seriously?_ She thought. _We came all the way out here for a fancy restaurant? They better have some damn chocolate cake._

Raven walked over to Clarke after talking, or in Clarke’s opinion flirting, with the woman at the podium.

“So, there’s a bit of a wait for a table.”

“Raven,” Clarke said giving her a stern look. “I love you, but this is a very shitty surprise.”

Raven rubbed the back of her neck. “I realize that. Anyway, the bar is open and we can go sit there. I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Fine. But afterwards, we’re leaving.”

“Deal. I’ll meet you over there, I have to find the restrooms.”

Clarke snickered. “I told you not to drink all that water before we left.”

“I was thirsty!”

Clarke smirked. “In more ways then one.”

“Just go to the damn bar. I’ll be over in a minute.”

Clarke made her way to the bar and sat down. The bartender brought her a menu and left her to look over it. The menu wasn’t anything special and it was definitely short. Clarke quickly found the dessert section and scanned it for anything chocolate related. Before she could read everything, a pair of hands covered her eyes.

“Raven,” Clarke said annoyed. “I’m not in the mood for this.”

“Not Raven.”

Clarke furrowed her eyebrows and turned around in her chair as the person dropped their hands.

“OCTAVIA!” Clarke yelled as she launched herself into the arms of the other woman.

A few of the other diners looked over at the commotion the two girls had made and gave them annoyed looks. Neither of the girls paid them any attention as they continued to hold each other.

“What are you doing here?” Clarke asked excitedly as she stepped away from the embrace.

Octavia was in a pair of denim skinny jeans and a lavender blue muscle tee paired with black booties. Her dark brown hair was down and wavy over her muscled shoulders. She was tan and it was obvious that she worked out. Her eyes were a soft green tinged with grey and she had a smile that could light up any room.

“I’m promoting my latest movie.” Octavia replied grinning.

“Oh my god!” Clarke exclaimed as she hugged Octavia again. “It’s been too damn long! How long are you here for?”

“I’ve been in LA for the past week and I’ll be here for another month or so.”

Clarke’s mouth dropped in surprise. “You’ve been here for an entire week! And I’m just now hearing from you!”

Octavia shrugged her shoulders. “It was Raven’s idea to surprise you.”

Clarke shook her head. “I hate her, but I also love her. It’s infuriating.”

Octavia laughed. “That it is.”

“See, I told you it was going to be a great surprise!”

Octavia and Clarke looked over to where Raven had stepped up to the bar, a smug grin on her face.

“Honestly, I was starting to lose faith in you.” Clarke teased.

Raven placed both of her hands over her heart pretending to be hurt. “I’m offended that you thought I would bring you to some stuck up place just to buy you food.”

Clarke laughed. “Well, this is definitely a good enough reason to get me out of the apartment on my day off.”

“Fantastic!” Raven said clasping her hands together. “Now let’s order something, I’m starving.”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “When are you not hungry?” she teased.

Raven stuck her tongue out at Octavia as they all took a seat at the bar.

The three friends chatted for a few hours catching up on everything that had happened in the past year. Clarke met Octavia at Stanford about a month after meeting Raven. All three of them became very close and since then, have been inseparable. Octavia Blake was a year younger than them and had majored in theater performance. Upon graduation, she landed her first serious role in an Indie film. From then on, Octavia became a well known actress, featured in various film genres and even landing a recurring role on a teenage sci-fi show. It had been over a year since the three of them were in the same room together. Octavia was always busy filming or traveling the world, not to mention being followed by thousands of fans.

“Wait, wait.” Raven laughed. “One of your fans actually got a tattoo of your face on their arm?”

Octavia smiled and nodded. “Yes, they did! It was kind of creepy.”

“So, what movie are you promoting this time, O?” Clarke asked. “Please tell me it’s not another sappy rom com.”

Octavia scoffed. “God, no! I told myself that I would never do another one of those again. The last one was a mess. Plus, my co-star was crazy.”

“Didn’t you guys date for a few months?” Raven asked.

Octavia gave her a disgusted look. “Don’t bring that up again. Atom was a mistake.”

Raven smirked. “But he was hot.”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “To answer your question Clarke, I’m promoting a post-apocalyptic movie called The Sky and the Ground.”

Clarke nodded. “You seem to be doing a lot of that genre lately.”

“I enjoy it. I didn’t think that the post-apocalyptic thing would stick, but I’ve pretty much been typecast in that genre.”

“You’re such a badass.” Clarke teased.

Octavia and Raven laughed.

“Which brings me to the other reason why I wanted to meet with you guys.” Octavia took her phone out of her back pocket and started scrolling through it. “I wanted to invite you guys to the premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre. It’s next Thursday.”

“A movie premiere?” Raven asked excitedly. “Hell, yeah!”

“And then there’s always the after party.” Octavia continued.

“And free booze?” Raven slammed her hands on the bar and then lifted them in the air. “It’s going to be the best night of my life!”

Clarke chuckled. “Rae, you’re invited to a lot of parties, being a top-shot CEO. How is this any different?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Those work parties are a bore. It’s just snobby investors and other CEOs who want a piece of my business. Ohhhh! Maybe I’ll see Ryan Gosling, or better yet Scarlett Johansson. I wouldn’t mind getting her number.”

Clarke and Octavia laughed.

“I’ll have to check my schedule at the hospital but I think I’ll be able to come.” Clarke said.

“Excellent!” Octavia said happily. “I’ll give your names to my manager to put on the list. Also, you can bring a plus one if you want.”

“Why would I do that when I could have my choice of any fantastic Hollywood star?” Raven teased. “Clarkey, on the other hand, may bring a special someone.”

Octavia raised her eyebrow. “Did you forget to tell me something, Griffin? I can’t believe you would keep something like that from your best friend!”

Clarke groaned. “I am not dating anyone.”

“Not yet.” Raven quickly added. “She’s got this cop girl though.”

“A cop?” Octavia said rather intrigued. “That’s certainly a step up from your previous relationship.”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Lexa!” Clarke said in annoyance. “I’ve only talked to her like once.”

“Which is why you need to call her up and ask her out.” Raven pushed. “Get back in the game!”

Clarke put her head in her hands and shook her head. Raven was always trying to push Clarke into doing things, some of them not very smart choices.

“Well, whatever happens, or doesn’t happen, between you and this Lexa gal, I hope to see you Thursday night!” Octavia said as she stood from her chair. “It’s been great catching up with you two but I have an interview I have to get ready for.”

“Octavia Blake, actress extraordinaire!” Raven said proudly. “Our little baby is so grown up.” She wiped away invisible tears.

Octavia slapped Raven’s arm playfully before embracing her. “Keep it together, Reyes.”

“Can’t wait for Thursday night.” Clarke said as she gave Octavia a hug.

“It’ll be just like our days in college.” Octavia reminisced. “Maybe party-girl Griffin will make an appearance.”

Raven started to laugh uncontrollably as Clarke glared at both of her best friends. “I hate you both.”

Octavia gave them both a smile before parting ways.

“Thanks, Rae.”

“See,” Raven said with a smug grin. “I truly am the greatest friend you’ve ever had.”

“Second to Octavia.” Clarke joked.

“Ouch,” Raven said sarcastically. “I bought you chocolate cake, just remember that.”

Clarke chuckled. “Let’s go home, oh Raven the Great.” She mock bowed before looping her arm in Raven’s and making their way out of the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be fun (hopefully). Sorry this is so slow. I have to introduce the characters and some of their backstory before I can really delve into all the action and LOADS of Clexa!


	3. Spotlights & Red Carpets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone prepares for Octavia's Movie Premiere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well would you look at that! Another chapter! I could list a million excuses of why I'm just now updating this story but I won't bore you with them. Enjoy Ch. 3! FINALLY!!!
> 
> FYI: I did not proof-read this, so I apologize for any mistakes!!!

The last few days had been tiring for Lexa. She worked diligently on case after case but there was still no lead on the Murphy case. Even on her weekend off she was in the bullpen researching anything that she could find on Murphy, his lawyer, and any connections between the two. Anya kept her updated every so often, but the forensics team was still having problems with the footage. Lexa had forgotten how many times she looked at the footage with the mystery man and even combed through the street cameras to see if the man had visited Murphy again; he had not.

It was a late Monday afternoon and Lexa was sitting at her desk looking over another random case file. She was always willing to lend a hand to any officer or detective in his or her cases but they were usually small incidents compared to the cases she worked on with Anya. Being at her desk and doing paperwork was the least exhilarating thing about her job. She was always more into running around after suspects, making them sweat in the interrogation room, and then ultimately making the arrest. Despite the adventurous side of the job, the paperwork still had to be done and no one was going to finish it for her.

Two hours later, Lexa set the last of her case files down on her desk and took a deep breath. She looked around the bullpen. It was fairly quiet with the occasional ringing of a phone now and then. Her partner’s desk had been empty for the better part of the afternoon. Anya had taken Lincoln and Miller with her to canvas the area around Murphy’s bar and talk to a few locals trying to get any new evidence to help their case. There wasn’t much to do for the rest of the day so Lexa began to gather her things.

“Woods!”

Lexa looked up from her desk and saw Indra standing outside her office.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Office. Now.” Indra disappeared into her office. Her voice wasn’t harsh, but Indra rarely called Lexa into her office.

 _What now?_ Lexa huffed and dropped her leather jacket she had been holding.

Indra was sitting at her desk going through the mass of papers sitting in front of her as Lexa entered the room, closing the door behind her.

“Lexa.”

Indra didn’t usually use her first name when they were working. “Captain. What can I do for you?”

“How are your cases going?” Indra didn’t look up from what she was doing.

“Fine. Nothing too complicated.”

“Good.”

 No one said anything for a few seconds.

“Is there a reason why you’re checking up on me?” Lexa questioned.

Indra took a deep breath and looked up at Lexa as she set a file down. “I just wanted to see how you were. I know you’re still annoyed about being taken off the case.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Annoyed? I’m pissed! There’s absolutely no legal grounds for Ontari to keep me from this case.”

“Lexa, I’m not going to argue with you about this again.”

“Just because she has connections with the DA’s office does not mean she can strong arm us!” Lexa was beginning to raise her voice.

“I’ve told you! The investigation from the DA’s office is looking at more than just your situation! My hands are tied!”

Lexa scoffed. “I know you’re not going to just sit around and do nothing! Come on Captain, I thought you of all people wouldn’t give up this easily!”

“Enough!” Indra bellowed.

Lexa’s lowered her gaze to the ground. “I didn’t mean…”

“I know you didn’t. The precinct is going through a lot right now. I can’t have one of my best detectives hung up on one case.”

Lexa looked up and caught Indra’s gaze. “I’m here to offer my help. If I can smooth anything over with DA Jaha, I will. We’ve worked multiple cases together and I’m sure that we can…”

“I’ve already talked to Jaha. He’s not overseeing the investigation.”

Lexa furrowed her brow. “And why not? He’s the damn DA.”

“Jaha’s too busy with some case he’s been working on for the past month. Some drug ring or other organized crime. The point is, he gave most of the cases to the Assistant DA.”

Lexa nodded in understanding. “Nia Queen. She is definitely not a saint.”

Indra smirked. “More like a damn pit bull who won’t ever let go of a bone.”

“So what, play nice with her until she drops this ridiculous investigation? What is she really after?”

Indra rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what she’s searching for, but she doesn’t like this precinct, specifically me. She hasn’t since I became Captain. Bottom line, we do our jobs and don’t give her any more reason to come after us.”

Lexa clenched her jaw and nodded.

“Do you think you can behave for the next month or so?” Indra questioned a bit sarcastically.

Lexa smirked. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good.”

“Was that it?” Lexa knew that Indra had something else on her mind.

Indra took another deep breath before asking Lexa a question she already knew the answer to. “It’s his birthday this Saturday. He’d really like it if you came this year. Will you?”

Lexa swallowed the lump that had quickly formed in her throat and looked at the ground. “You know I can’t.” She replied quietly.

Indra nodded her head in understanding, a sad expression slowly forming on her face. “Just think about it, please. You haven’t seen him since…”

“Can I go now?” Lexa quickly cut Indra off. She was starting to get uncomfortable and she felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.

Indra’s face returned back to one that was expressionless, her usual look. “Yes, just be careful this weekend.”

Lexa nodded and swiftly made her way out of Indra’s office.

 _She just had to bring it up._ Lexa knew that Indra meant well, but the upcoming date was always a bad time for her. Indra was her family, her aunt and Anya’s mother. She was married to Gustus Woods, Lexa’s father’s brother. Her uncle’s birthday was this weekend, but she hadn’t celebrated the occasion for years. It was a somber day for her because it coincided with the anniversary of her parent’s death. Gustus looked too much like his younger brother and she couldn’t bear to be around him. After all this time, the pain that she felt was worse every year; she didn’t think she would ever be able to get rid of the hurt in her heart.

Lexa shook her head of the current melancholy feelings swirling around in her head and headed back to her desk to pick up her things.

“Hey, Lexa!”

She looked up to see Lincoln walking towards her.

“You leaving for the day?” He asked.

“Yeah. Just finished up. Did you guys find anything useful?”

“There were a couple of people that had some interesting things to say about Murphy, but nothing credible. Most of them were either drunk of high. Not the best part of town.”

Lexa chuckled. “Those are the kind of people that will hang around a place like Murphy’s.”

Lincoln smiled and nodded.

“Did you need something before I head out?”

“Just to remind you that it’s our week. You and me!”

Lexa rolled her eyes. “Seriously! I was just out on an event last week.”

Lincoln shrugged his shoulders. “It’s on the schedule. Check your email for the details.”

Lexa groaned. “We’re not some damn security guards.”

“Well, the city is in charge of our salaries so they can pretty much make us work anything.”

“Ugh, whatever.” Lexa said as she pulled her leather jacket on. “I’ll see you tomorrow Lincoln. Have a good night.”

“You too, Lex.”

* * *

 

Lexa was walking down the familiar street of LA towards her apartment. The sun was low in the sky; it was still fairly early in the night. People were doing some shopping in the small boutiques and getting dinner at the various restaurants. She continued on her way, slowly taking in the fresh air and trying to clear her mind. Rounding the corner, she came to the alley where she had met Clarke a few nights ago. She stopped and looked down the alley. The few remaining lights that worked were on and illuminated a few doors that led to the stores on the street.

There wasn’t anything special about the alley, but it brought back memories of the blonde, making Lexa smile. _What would have happened to her if I hadn’t shown up?_ Lexa didn’t want to think about all the scenarios that could have played out if she hadn’t intervened. She had meant to look up this Finn guy in the databases but didn’t have his last name. Sure, it was her job to look after the people of LA and keep them safe, but something was different about Clarke. She was special. Lexa didn’t know why she thought that, but she just did. Seeing the blonde had brought up feelings Lexa thought she would never have again; it was both confusing and scary for her. Lexa wasn’t a very emotional person, or in other words not very vocal about them. She tended to keep them to herself, which Anya had told her over and over again was not healthy.

Lexa took one last look at the alley and continued on her way to her apartment. She wondered if she would ever see Clarke again. LA was a huge city, but Clarke did have her number and she knew where the blonde worked. Of course, Lexa wasn’t going to just show up at the hospital. That would be weird. If Clarke wanted to talk to her or see her again, then she would call. Hopefully? Maybe? Probably not. Clarke was probably too busy with all the things in her life and Lexa was just… Lexa; nothing special about that. She walked past a few more stores and restaurants until she came to a small grassy area with tables and benches. She sat on one of the benches and took out her phone, checking her emails and messages from the day. After a few minutes she started to watch people walking on the sidewalks. Lexa enjoyed people-watching every now and then. It always amazed her that everyone had a different story, but in some way they all seemed connected.

As she sat on the bench thinking about the day’s activities, something caught her eye. Her gaze drifted to one of the boutiques where a blonde woman was walking through the door, towards the bench. Lexa’s eyes became wide and she quickly stood as the woman approached her.

“Shouldn’t you be out protecting others from their crazy exes?”

“Doctor Griffin.” Lexa said surprisingly. Was the universe trying to mess with her. “Shouldn’t you be tending to patients or reattaching limbs?”

Clarke chuckled. “Touché. I actually just got off work and I’m shopping for this thing I have in a few nights.” She didn’t know why she was telling Lexa this. The woman probably had better things to do than listen to her babble about her plans.

“Seems like you have a very busy schedule, Doc.” Lexa smirked.

Clarke didn’t know why but she enjoyed it when Lexa called her Doctor. Maybe that was weird, but it made her smile. “You probably do as well. If anyone’s going to keep the city safe, I’m glad it’s you.” _Seriously Clarke, keep it together._

Lexa smiled and shrugged. “Well, it’s a group effort.”

A calm silence surrounded them as blue met green. Their gaze was electrifying, neither woman wanted to look away. Lexa debated with herself whether or not to ask the young blonde on a date, but the circumstances seemed weird. She wasn’t working any big case and she wasn’t going to put back on the Murphy case any time soon. So why not ask Clarke? On the off chance that she miraculously did start working on the case again, it didn’t seem like a good idea to start something. Plus, having feelings for someone wasn’t exactly the best in Lexa’s line of work. But why not take a chance? Deep down she knew why she shouldn’t or… couldn’t. Somewhere her conscience told her to fuck it, and that’s what she planned to do.

“So, Clarke…”

Before she could say another word, she was interrupted.

“Clarke!” An attractive dark brunette came striding towards them. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

_Oh, great Lexa. You fell for a taken girl. Fuck my life._

“Are we buying these dresses or not?” The brunette asked. She shifted her gaze to Lexa and smiled. “Who’s your friend Clarkey?”

 _Friend? Her and Lexa weren’t friends, maybe acquaintances, but not friends…not yet._ “Uh, Raven…this is Detective Woods.”

Raven looked amused. “So, you’re the one Clarke’s been talking about the last few days.”

Clarke started to blush.

 _Clarke talked about me?_ Lexa thought to herself. _But why talk to her girlfriend about me?_ “Lexa Woods.” She held her hand out and shook Raven’s hand.

“It’s nice to finally put a face to the name my girl’s been obsessing about.”

Lexa raised her eyebrows looking amused.

Clarke scoffed. “I haven’t been obsessing.” Clarke was too embarrassed to look at Lexa’s reaction.

Raven laughed. “Oh no, she has. Every time she gets, it’s always ‘Lexa this’ and ‘Detective Woods is so awesome.’

Clarke wanted to strangle Raven and then bury herself deep underground so no one could find her. Leave it to her best friend to embarrass her in front of an attractive woman. “Rae, please shut up.”

“Tell me Lexa,” Raven said smugly as she crossed her arms. “Are you single?”

Clarke’s eyes blew open. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. “You don’t have to answer that.” She said, finally looking at Lexa.

Lexa was certainly caught off guard by Raven’s question. She was expecting to hear something along the lines of ‘have you ever shot someone’ or ‘what was your craziest case.’ This Raven person was certainly…interesting.

Raven snapped her fingers, a brilliant idea popping into her head. “You should invite her to O’s event, Clarke! Bet she would have fun.”

“I’m sure that Detective Woods has better things to do than hang out with us.” Clarke said annoyed.

Raven shrugged her shoulders. “It was just a thought. So, are we getting those dresses here or moving on to the next store?”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “We’ve been to three other stores in the past hour. I’m good with what I found here. You on the other hand need to make a decision.”

“What?” Raven said innocently. “I’m just trying to find that perfect dress that makes my ass look good.”

“Rae!” Clarke scolded. She really wanted to strangle her best friend.

“You know it looks good, Griffin. I’ve seen you staring at it before.”

Clarke covered her face with her hands. _Why did this have to happen in front of Lexa?_ The universe obviously hated her. “Just go buy the damn dresses.”

Raven gave Clarke a firm clap on the back before heading back to the store. "Got it!"

 _Thank god!_ Clarke thought. _No more embarrassing things from her._

"Your tits are going to look fantastic in this dress, Griff!" Raven shouted down the street.

People were giving Raven and Clarke confusing looks, some shaking their heads disapprovingly.

Clarke didn't think it was possible for her face to turn any redder than what it already was. _I am so going to kill her!_

Lexa couldn't hold back her laughter.

Clarke gave her a confusing look before joining in.

"Your girlfriend is very charismatic." Lexa said smiling. She was still feeling a little upset that the blonde was taken.

Clarke broke out into another fit of laughter, making Lexa scrunch her face up in confusion. "Oh, god! Raven is definitely not my girlfriend. That would be just weird."

Lexa had a somewhat pained expression on her face. _Great, Lexa! You've fallen for a straight girl! Best fucking luck ever!_

Clarke could tell that Lexa looked even more confused and...hurt? "I mean, it's weird because she's my best friend." Clarke tried to clarify. "We've known each other since college."

"I see."

"Yeah,” Clarke said rubbing the back of her neck. “It's actually pretty funny how we met. We were both trying to hit on the same girl at some party."

 _Girl? So she's not straight?_ Lexa nodded. “That _is_ a very interesting way to meet.”

Clarke chuckled. “That it is. But I was the one who got to take the girl home.”

Lexa smirked. “Cocky much, Doc?”

“When I see something I like, I go for it.” She winked at Lexa. _Where the fuck is all this confidence coming from?_

 _She’s flirting with me. Right? That’s totally flirting._ _What do I say?_  “Well, I guess you should go help your friend with those dresses.” _What. The. Fuck. You just lost your chance moron._

Clarke tried to hide her disappointment. Wasn’t she making it obvious for the brunette? Or maybe she was just playing hard to get. She would have to take the lead on this then. “I know that Raven was a little crazy, but… do you want to come to my friend’s event Thursday night?” She quickly said.

Lexa was surprised by the invite and could tell that Clarke seemed nervous about asking. “Clarke…”

“It’s not a crazy event… I think. Just a few people here and there…”

“Clarke.”

“It’ll be fun. Well, at least from what I’ve heard.”

“Clarke.”

“I’ve never actually been to one of these things, but…”

“CLARKE!” Lexa placed her hands on either of Clarke’s shoulders, which immediately stopped the blonde from babbling; it was really cute.

Clarke blushed, feeling electricity flow through her body where Lexa was touching her.

“Breathe.” Lexa said calmly.

Clarke took a deep breath, but it was a little difficult when Lexa’s hands were on her. “Sorry.” She muttered.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Babbling. I do it a lot. I know it’s annoying.”

Lexa smiled. “You have nothing to sorry for Clarke. It was actually kind of cute.” Now Lexa was the one blushing. “And about your invitation…” she looked down at her feet before meeting the blonde’s gaze again. “I’d really like to go.”

 _She said yes!_ Clarke was on cloud nine. She had actually pulled it off! All she wanted to do was dance around and pump her fist in the air, but she restrained herself. Walking in with Lexa on her arm on Thursday was going to be the best night ever.

“But I can’t.”

 _Wait…what?_ _Damn it Griffin, you came on too strong._

Lexa saw the disappointment in the blonde’s eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she quickly added. “I just have to work.”

 _She doesn’t have to make up an excuse. She could have just said she wasn’t interested._ “I understand.” Clarke said a little deflated. “I know what it’s like to have a busy schedule.”

“Maybe another time?” Lexa asked, her question full of hope. “I would really like to go out with you.”

A small smile formed on Clarke’s face. “Would you now?”

Lexa realized how her statement had sounded and quickly tried to correct it. “I mean hang out. Though I wouldn’t be opposed to taking you out…but maybe after we hang out? If that’s ok with you, I wouldn’t want to just… it’s up to you….but ….”

Clarke giggled. “Now who’s the one babbling.”

Lexa blushed.

“CLARKE!”

Lexa and Clarke turned to see Raven’s head peaking out from the store’s door.

_What now?_

“I forgot my card.” Raven shouted. “Can you hurry it up with the flirting and come buy the dresses? Also, I’m starving!” And with that last remark, she disappeared back into the store.

_Damn it Raven. I hate you so much._

“Seems like she could use your help.” Lexa said, putting her hands in her jacket pockets.

“I don’t think she wants my help right now. The only thing I want to do is kill her.” Clarke said jokingly.

Lexa raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Please, don’t do that. Then I would have to take you to jail and I _really_ don’t want to.”

Clarke laughed. _I wouldn’t mind you putting me in handcuffs_. She blushed at the thought of it. “Yeah, not the best way to start off this friendship.”

Lexa smiled. This was going to be a very different kind of friendship from what she was used to, hopefully. She wasn’t a very social person, mainly keeping to the people she worked with. Maybe that’s why she was so rusty with the whole dating thing. But also, she had never been able to form a solid connection with anyone, since her parents’ incident. That is until she met Clarke Griffin. This woman was refreshing and not like most people that she had met. Granted, it had only been a few hours of conversation here and there, but Lexa knew, this woman wasn’t going away any time soon.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Doc.”

“I look forward to it.” Clarke replied.

“You have my number.” Lexa said sheepishly. “Text me when you want to…hang out.”

“Will do, Detective.” Clarke smiled and slowly walked towards the store. Before she entered, she looked back at Lexa who was still standing by the bench. “May we meet again!” she shouted and disappeared into the store.

“May we meet again, Clarke.” Lexa mumbled. She looked at the store for another moment, before continuing her walk back to her apartment.

* * *

 It was never a simple day at the hospital. Clarke had worked tirelessly over the past couple of days and put in overtime so that she could go to Octavia’s event Thursday night. Most of the surgeries she had weren’t very complicated, but they still took a lot of her time. She enjoyed being a doctor, she really did, but it kept her busy, leaving her with almost no time to herself. Now she knew how her mother felt every night when she would come home from the hospital. Clarke’s mother, Abby Griffin, was one of the best surgeon’s in the nation; she was currently head of surgery at DC Memorial Hospital. Clarke rarely got to see her mother a lot since they both had busy schedules, but Abby did make the occasional surprise trips, much to Clarke’s chagrin.

Thursday night had finally arrived and Clarke was ecstatic. Usually her nights consisted of attending to patients who didn’t want her help; those nights were always a pain in her ass. She was finishing up the final touches of her makeup when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Before she could make it to the door, Raven came bursting through it.

“Griffster! You ready yet?”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Why are you always barging into my room?”

Raven shrugged. “At least I knocked.” She let out a low whistle. “Damn, you look hot!”

Clarke did a 360 so that Raven could see her outfit. She was wearing a black dress with a slit up her leg that hugged her hips and hovered just above her ankle. The dress had thin straps and a deep V-neck that showed off a fair amount of cleavage. Her blonde hair fell down over her shoulders in waves, her lips a bright red.

“If I wasn’t your best friend, I would definitely fuck you.”

Clarke playfully slapped Raven’s arm. “That’s gross, Rae. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

It was Raven’s turn to model her dress for Clarke, though she had a little more fun in showing her dress off. She was wearing a long red dress that had a halter top and showed off her tanned arms and ass, just like she had wanted it to. Raven had her hair pinned up into a bun, with a few strands hanging on her face. She too had red lipstick on, the same color as her dress. The length of the dress also helped to conceal her brace.

“Put on some heels and let’s go!” Raven barked. “The limo is waiting.”

Clarke scoffed as she went to her closet to retrieve her black heels. “I can’t believe Octavia sent a limo for us. We could have just taken a taxi.”

“You can’t take a taxi to a Hollywood event! That’s ridiculous! The limo fits with the whole prestigious identity thing.”

“I think you mean the whole stuck-up celebrity bitch type.” Clarke quipped.

“Whatever.” Raven said waving her hands. “It’s one night where we get to hang with the big dogs! Let’s have some fun with it! Plus, we could end up bringing a Hollywood star back home with us.” She winked.

Clarke shook her head and laughed. “You sure are something Raven. I’m surprised that we’re friends.”

“You couldn’t get rid of me, even if you tried.” Raven said as she hooked her arm with Clarke’s. “The stars await!” She exclaimed as they made their way out of the apartment.

* * *

 

The premiere party was a mass of activity. A live band was performing various cover songs on the stage that had been created on one side of the massive ballroom. There were tables and chairs scattered around the room, waiters and waitresses walking around with platters full of food. On the other end of the ballroom opposite the stage was a large bar with multiple bartenders fixing drinks for the guests. Everyone who was anyone was at this party, or so it seemed.

Clarke and Raven were standing off to the side as Octavia talked with a few other celebrities and some reporters who were lucky enough to get an invite.

“She’s good at this.” Raven said as they continued to watch Octavia.

“What did you expect?” Clarke asked. “She’s one of the hottest up and coming stars of this year.” She smiled at the memories of her and Raven helping Octavia run lines in college.

The younger brunette would keep the two of them up on countless nights to rehearse for small roles in theater productions and weird indie films that never made it to screen. Back then, Clarke and Raven were usually annoyed when Octavia brought a new script to their apartment to rehearse, but they couldn’t be happier for their friend now. It’s true when people say that it’s hard to make it in Hollywood. Octavia’s journey to stardom wasn’t easy but she was determined. Eventually one of her small roles in an Indie film had caught the eye of multiple directors and producers. From there, her career had taken off.

“I’m just glad she’s still friends with you, Griffin.”

Clarke scoffed.

“I mean, I know _I’m_ amazing, but I don’t know what she sees in you.” Raven said jokingly.

“You’re an ass.” Clarke said, narrowing her eyes at her best friend.

Raven smirked but then spoke in a sincere voice. “I’m sorry Lexa couldn’t make come tonight. She seems like a nice person.”

Clarke was surprised at not only Raven’s sincerity in the moment but also the topic of Lexa. She hadn’t thought of the green-eyed brunette since Monday night, due to her busy schedule. Even though they didn’t know each other well, she was still upset that Lexa couldn’t come with her. She knew there was no reason for her to really be upset, but it would have been nice to know more than just Octavia and Raven at the party. Plus, it would have given them time to get to know each other better.

“She had a job to do.” Clarke said, shrugging her shoulders. “Who am I to stand in the way of one’s duty?”

“That was deep Clarke. Too deep for a party like this.” Raven smiled. “It’s probably a good thing that she wasn’t able to make it.”

“Why would you say that?” Clarke asked as she furrowed her eyebrows.

“She probably wouldn’t have been able to keep her eyes off your boobs!”

Clarke playfully slapped Raven’s arm. “And you’re back to being an ass.”

Raven laughed. “Let’s get some alcohol in you, Blondie. Maybe by the time we’ve downed a few, O will be done with all her mingling.”

Clarke nodded. “I definitely need a drink after the crazy week I’ve had.”

“It’s time for Party Girl Griffin to make an appearance tonight!”

Clarke rolled her eyes as they made their way to the bar.

* * *

 

About an hour later Octavia made her way over to the bar where Clarke was standing alone. Raven was currently dancing with some guy and by the looks of it, really enjoying herself.

“Did she leave you here all alone?” Octavia asked as she ordered herself a drink.

“Not the entire time. Raven has only been dancing for about ten minutes.” Clarke responded. “Also, I didn’t feel like dancing with any of the guys who asked.”

Octavia laughed. “Good choice. Most of the guys are already way past their limit. You enjoying yourself?”

Clarke tried to put on a genuine smile. “Yeah, I am. Thanks for the invite.”

Octavia frowned. “You were always a horrible liar, Clarke. I get it. If I could, I wouldn’t have even come out to this party. I’m mainly doing it to appease my publicist. She says I don’t get out that much.”

Clarke chuckled. “I would’ve thought that you loved this type of stuff.”

“I used to.” Octavia said, taking a sip of her drink. “But now all I care about is giving the best performance I can in my work and letting it speak for itself. You know I’ve never been one for all the money and glamour.”

“That I do.” Clarke agreed. “Which is why I love you, O. Always so genuine.”

Octavia smiled and finished off her drink rather quickly. “I have a surprise for you.”

“What is with you and Raven and all these damn surprises?” Clarke said in an annoyed tone.

“Trust me.” Octavia said linking their arms together. “You’re going to love this.”

Octavia led Clarke through the thrall of people, occasionally waving at a few of them. They made their way closer to the stage where Raven had just parted ways with her dance partner.

“Wait here with Raven.” Octavia said as she left the two quickly.

“What’s going on?” Raven asked as she watched Octavia disappear.

“No idea.” Clarke replied. “She said she had a surprise.”

Raven clasped her hands together. “Oh goody, I love surprises.”

“That makes one of us.” Clarke said sarcastically.

All of a sudden a pair of hands were grasping her hips. _What the hell?!?_

“Excuse you!” she exclaimed, whipping around to yell at the person. “Who the fuck –“ Her eyes went wide and she broke out into a grin.

“Well that was a warm welcome.” The stranger said.

“Oh my god, Bell!” Clarke shouted as she enveloped him in a tight hug.

Bellamy laughed. “That’s more like it.”

Clarke took a step back and took in Bellamy’s appearance. He was a tall fit guy with short black hair; it was usually in a shaggy mess but had been tamed for the event. The black tux that he wore was well tailored and accentuated his toned arms and legs.

“How are you here?” Clarke asked, still in a bit of a daze. “I haven’t seen you since you moved to New York.”

“I’ve been in town for a while on business, plus I couldn’t give up a chance to see my sister.” He gave Octavia a quick hug. “And I wanted to surprise you, Princess.”

Clarke cringed at the nickname. It didn’t go unnoticed by the group.

“My bad.” Bellamy said as he placed his hand on Clarke’s shoulder. “Old habits.”

“Well this little reunion has been great and all but I need another drink.” Raved announced.

Bellamy smirked. “It’s nice to see you too, Raven.”

Raven didn’t look too amused. “Feeling not so mutual pretty boy.”

Clarke and Octavia laughed.

“Same old ball of sunshine.” Bellamy said as he forced Raven into a hug.

Raven pried Bellamy’s arms off of her. “Yep, nope. I don’t do all this lovey dovey stuff. I’ll be at the bar.”

“And I’ve got to go find my director.” Octavia stated as she scanned the ballroom. “But you two catch up.”

Clarke and Bellamy watched as the two women walked out of sight.

“How have you been?” Bellamy asked. “You look good.”

Clarke chuckled. “I’m great. Keeping pretty busy at work.”

“Ah, yes! Surgeon extraordinaire.”

“Best damn job ever. Stressful, but gratifying.”

“I bet.”

“How’s New York? Still running around taking coffee orders?”

Bellamy bowed his head and shook it in amusement. “Ha! Not any more. I’m actually in line to become a partner.”

“Bellamy, that’s fantastic! How long are you in town for?”

“Not sure. Could be a few weeks or even a few months. I’m overseeing a major deal with a company here in LA, so my time here is unlimited at the moment.”

“More time for us to hang out!” Clarke smiled.

“Raven seemed happy to see me.” Bellamy said sarcastically.

Clarke laughed. “You know how she is. All sarcastic and a pain in the ass on the outside but soft and loving on the inside.”

Bellamy joined Clarke in laughing. “Raven has always been a firecracker.”

“And always seems to blow something up.”

“You’re telling me!” Bellamy exclaimed. “She burnt my eyebrows off while making soup. How do you blow up a pot of soup!”

“With Raven, we’ll never know.”

Bellamy smiled. “I’ve really missed you, C.”

She hugged him again. “It’s been a long time, Bell.”

“How about I grab us some drinks and we grab a table? We’ve got a lot of years of catching up to do.”

“Sounds great! I’ll be here.”

“I’m guessing the usual?” Bellamy smirked. “Unless you’ve toned down your alcohol intake.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled. “Just get me wine, Blake.”

He returned her smile before disappearing into the mass of bodies.

Clarke took a deep breath and looked around at the other attendees. She couldn’t believe that Bellamy was back in the city. When Octavia had introduced her and Raven to the older Blake, the group instantly clicked. Bellamy was about two years older than her and Raven. Most of their college years were spent at Bellamy’s infamous frat parties, drinking and dancing until the early morning hours. Bellamy moved to New York in the middle of Clarke’s senior year and she hadn’t seen him since then. The relationship between the two of them was strong and Clarke owed Bellamy a lot. When Clarke was dating Finn back in college, the relationship had started out great, but towards the end, things became toxic.

It all started when she lost her childhood best friend, Wells Jaha in a car accident. She blamed herself for his death because he was coming to pick her up from a party where she had gotten a little too drunk. The loss was too much for her and slowly she began to withdraw from everyone, especially her parents. Finn provided her with pills to help ease the pain, but it wasn’t enough. She soon got herself hooked on heroine, which Finn was more than happy to supply. Her relationship with her friends started to deteriorate and she cut off communication with her parents in D.C. Finn became the only person that Clarke interacted with. Endless nights of getting drunk, shooting up, and meaningless sex became her life by the end of her junior year.

No one could get through to her, not even Octavia and Raven. Eventually her two friends left her to her own devices; there was nothing else they could do. That is until Bellamy came to visit from one of his many trips from New York. He tried to talk some sense into Clarke but to no avail. Ultimately, he had beaten Finn up and threatened him to stay away from Clarke. It worked for a while until Clarke went looking for Finn so that she could score some more drugs.

It wasn’t until the passing of her father did she realize everything she had done. She was a mess, both physically and emotionally. The summer before her senior year, Bellamy helped her rebuild her life. He was there for her even when she had pushed everyone else away. Leaving Finn was first on the list and Bellamy was more than happy to kick the guy’s ass again. That summer was rough for Clarke, but she mended bridges with her friends and her mother. She had made a promise to her father before his passing, and she was going to see it through; she was done disappointing those she cared for.

Looking around the room again, she was happy with her life. She had a great job and loving friends who stuck with her. Her dad would have been proud.

As her eyes wandered around the room they stopped on a brunette dressed in a white blouse and black pant suit. It was Lexa. She was standing by one of the many entrances of the ballroom, her eyes never leaving the partygoers. Clarke looked to see if Bellamy was coming back with their drinks, but she couldn’t find him. After a moment of deliberating with herself, she made her way over to where Lexa stood.

Lexa didn’t notice the blonde until she was a few feet away. She tried not to stare too much as Clarke walked over to her, but it was difficult because she looked absolutely stunning in her low cut black dress.

“Clarke.” Lexa couldn’t believe that she was here. “What are you—“

“You could’ve just said you weren’t interested in attending the event with me.” Clarke said sarcastically.

Lexa tensed slightly and opened and closed her mouth. She was still surprised that Clarke was here. “I… um… you know…”

Clarke chuckled. “I’m joking Lexa. I can tell you’re working.” She had noticed the earpiece device the brunette was wearing as she got closer.

Lexa released the tension in her shoulders. The last thing she wanted to do was upset the blonde. “You look lovely, Clarke.”

“And you look so official in that suit, Detective! It’s like you’re protecting the President.”

Lexa shrugged and smiled. “Well, there’s a lot of precious cargo here.”

Clarke blushed. “I didn’t know the police worked these kind of events. I always thought they hired private security.”

“Usually.” Lexa replied. “But with all the bad media around cops lately, the Governor implemented a change within the force. Every cop has to work some kind of event every so often. It’s basically just a publicity stunt. Also, some of the officers need to improve on their socializing skills.”

“Well I think yours are impeccable.”

“That’s great to hear! See, there’s a survey after every event and I would love to get your feedback.”

“Really?” Clarke asked, playing into Lexa’s joke. “And what kind of questions would I need to answer?”

Lexa waved her hand in the air absentmindedly. “Just the standard questions. Did you enjoy your night? Did you feel safe? Was the officer on duty really funny and attractive?”

Clarke couldn’t help the loud laugh that escaped her mouth. “Seems easy enough. I’ll be sure to answer all of your questions to the best of my ability. I’m always willing to help the police out in any way.”

Lexa smiled. “You enjoying your night? Meet any of your celebrity crushes?”

Clarke shook her head in amusement. “I mean it’s cool being here but I’m just here to support my best friend. I definitely prefer your company over these Hollywood stars.”

“I’m glad I could be of service, Ms. Griffin.”

Clarke playfully rolled her eyes at Lexa’s formality. “How about you? I’m guessing you have something better to do than babysit a bunch of LA’s elite?”

“This is true, but it beats giving out parking citations.”

They laughed.

“Most of the time these events are boring, with the occasional attendee getting a little too drunk. Besides that, not too much excitement.”

Clarke nodded in agreement.

“But this has been one of the best nights I’ve worked.” Lexa said calmly as she looked into Clarke’s cerulean eyes.

Clarke blushed and suddenly she couldn’t steer her gaze away Lexa’s beautiful forest green eyes. She quickly glanced at the brunette’s lips. Her strong chiseled jawline was creating a surge of heat to develop deep down in her stomach. She wanted to trace her fingers across that jawline and sketch it so she would never forget it. They were standing only inches apart from each other. Clarke had no idea how they had gravitated so close to one another, but she didn’t care. It felt like they were the only ones in the room. The music seemed to fade to the background until the only thing that could be heard was the sounds of each other’s breathing. Clarke was lost in the moment. She had never felt more safe and warm than when she was around Lexa.

“Clarke.” Lexa said softly clicking the _k_. “Would—“

“CLARKE!”

And the moment was over. Lexa cleared her throat and straightened her stance before looking to the person who had called the blonde’s name.

Raven was making her way towards them, followed closely by Bellamy and Octavia.

Clarke rolled her eyes as she saw her friends making their way over to them. They had the worst timing.

“We’ve been looking all over for you, Griffin.” Bellamy said as he handed her a glass of wine.

“I thought you would’ve hooked up with one of these hot celebrities.” Raven said.

Clarke gave her an unamused look and saw Lexa shift uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye. “I think that was your goal Rae.”

Raven snapped her fingers and smiled. “Right, it was!”

“Who’s your friend?” Octavia asked as she finally noticed Lexa.

Clarke glanced back at Lexa trying to hide the smile that formed on her lips. “This is—“

“Detective Woods!” Raven cut in. “Good to see you again!”

Lexa nodded firmly. “Likewise.”

“So you’re the Detective that’s got our Clarkey all smitten.” Octavia couldn’t help smirking at the two.

Clarke covered her eyes in embarrassment with her free hand. “Please stop.”

“Um, I guess?” Lexa said hesitantly. She felt out of place and Octavia’s comment had certainly caught her off guard.

There was an awkward silence between the group until Bellamy extended his hand towards Lexa. “Bellamy Blake. I apologize on behalf of my sister’s prodding.”

Lexa shook his hand. “No worries. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Right, sorry. I should probably introduce everyone.” Clarke said.

“No need.” Octavia interjected. “Octavia Blake. Actress, single, and Clarke’s best friend.”

Clarke groaned.

“Raven Reyes! One of LA’s top ten finest bachelorettes and the best damn Rocket Scientist in the world!”

Lexa had heard that name before. She thought for a moment before addressing Clarke’s friend. “Raven Reyes? As in the Raven Reyes who helped LAPD catch Cage Wallace?”

“The one and only.” Raven slightly bowed.

“You really helped us out on that case.”

Raven shrugged. “Just doing my civic duty.”

Octavia tried to contain her laughter. “You, Raven Reyes actually helped the LAPD? And here I thought you would probably be trying to blow it up.”

Lexa’s eyes widened slightly at the thought of the bullpen being blown up.

Raven looked slightly offended. “I would never! If there’s anything that the LAPD ever needs from little old me, you just need to call.” She winked at Lexa.

“And that’s your cue to leave.” Clarke said rather annoyed with her friends.

“So Detective Woods what brings you to my party?” Octavia asked ignoring Clarke.

Lexa looked at Clarke who had her hands covering her eyes looking thoruoughly embarrassed.

“I’m here with with my partner.” Lexa pointed over to where Lincoln was standing. “We’re just working security.”

Octavia looked over to where Lexa had pointed and looked rather excited. “Mmmm, well doesn’t he look nice.” A little flirtatious tone in her voice. “Come on Raven, let’s go get acquainted with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy and leave Clarkey to her flirting.”

“Isn’t it Tall, Dark, and Handsome?” Raven asked as Octavia dragged her towards Lincoln.

Bellamy seemed out of place standing with Lexa and Clarke alone so he decided to join Raven and his sister. “I better go make sure those two don’t get into too much trouble. It was nice to meet you Detective.”

“Likewise.” Lexa exchanged.

Clarke was still too embarrassed to look up at Lexa as her friends walked away.

“I’m sorry about them.”

“It’s fine.” Lexa said waving her hand absentmindedly. “That’s what friends do. Always looking out for one another.”

 _Or thoroughly embarrass you in front of a really attractive girl_. “They’re crazy, but I do love them.”

“It’s nice to have people like that in your life. Keeps you grounded.”

Clarke nodded. “That they do. I bet your friends act the same?”

Lexa tensed slightly. She didn’t have time for friends, except maybe Anya who forced her to do stuff. After her service in the army she jumped right into the police force. Since then her case load was non-stop. She didn’t have the time to go out and have fun as Anya constantly reminded her of. Her fellow officers were the closest thing to friends and possibly family that she had. Besides that, she didn’t have friends and she never really thought much of it until the beautiful blonde had brought it up.

“I don’t have many friends.” She responded.

“I highly doubt that. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with you?”

Lexa smiled. “It’s kind of hard when you always carry a badge and a gun. Most people tend to run the other way when I approach.” She paused. “Or end up in jail.”

Clarke laughed. “Well now you can add one more friend to your list.”

Lexa quirked her eyebrow. “Really? Who?”

“Me.”

A rush of warmth spread throughout Lexa’s body. She barely knew Clarke, but there was definitely a connection beginning to form between them and damn was it strong.

“Just as long as you don’t throw me in jail, then this friendship can work.”

Lexa laughed. “No promises. Just don’t do anything illegal.”

“Can’t make any promises there either.” Clarke smirked.

Lexa smiled and rolled her eyes. This was going to be an interesting friendship.

“Anyway,” Clarke continued. “We’re getting together later this weekend, me and my friends.” _Come on Griffin just ask her to hang out!_ She took a deep breath. “I was wondering if…”

There was a loud crash from across the room that drew Lexa and Clarke’s attention. Lincoln looked like he was trying to tackle a guy to the ground, Bellamy and Raven shielding Octavia from the commotion. Lexa and Clarke practically sprinted to the other side of the room, Clarke struggling in the heels that Raven had forced her to wear.

“I love you, Octavia!” The guy on the floor yelled. “I’d do anything for you!”

“Ok, buddy.” Lexa said slipping back into her commander mode. “I think it’s time for you to leave.” She slapped cuffs on him as Lincoln restrained him.

They each grabbed one of the intruder’s arms and lifted him to his feet.

“I love you so much!” The guy yelled again as he tried to free himself from the officers’ grasps.

“I’ve got him.” Lincoln said as he forced the guy outside of the banquet hall. All activity within the ballroom had come to a standstill, all eyes on the current situation.

Lexa cleared her throat and signaled the band to continue their set, to which they obliged. She then turned her attention to Clarke and her friends.

“Are you ok?” she asked Octavia.

“I’m good.” Octavia responded. “It’s still overwhelming when a crazed fan approaches.”

“If you want to press charges—“

“No, it’s fine.” Octavia said cutting Lexa off.

“O,” Bellamy’s jaw clenched. “The guy practically assaulted you.”

“Forget it Bell, this isn’t the first time. These things happen.” She rubbed her forehead. “I need another drink.” She stormed off towards the bar followed by a complaining Bellamy and a concerned Raven.

“I better go.” Lexa said after a few seconds. “I’ve got to make sure that guy doesn’t bother your friends again.”

“Of course.” Clarke nodded. She was a little upset that the brunette had to leave but she understood that Lexa needed to do her job.

“This city never sleeps.”

Clarke smiled. “Don’t I know it.”

“Lexa, this guy is starting to get rowdy!” Lincoln said through her earpiece. “He’s already bit me!”

Lexa took a breath and returned Clarke’s smile. “Until next time Doc.”

“Bye, Detective.”

Clarke watched Lexa disappear through the same doors that Lincoln had walked out of. Seeing the brunette had made her night that much better, but again, she missed the opportunity to ask her out. Next time, she promised herself. Next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo...... I have the next couple of chapters outlined but have not written them. Honestly, I have no idea when I will update again. BUT if you're willing to wait, I promise that this story will be good. I wasn't actually going to post Ch. 3 until I had a few more chapters complete but I just said to hell with it. 
> 
> Sneak Peek of Ch. 4: More interactions with our favorite soon-to-be couple, CLEXA and the beginnings of a major case!


	4. Active Cases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clexa is just as hopeless as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on sharing this chapter, but it's been like a month, so have at it.
> 
> I've kind of confused myself with my own story lol. This is what happens when you don't plan out the first few chapters. So if the timeline is fucked up in the first few chapters, I apologize. But I'm too lazy to go back and fix them. I think I've finally got it all straight (pun totally intended) :P
> 
> I did not proof-read this!

Saturday quickly came, but not without the media’s incessant chatter about Octavia’s party crasher Thursday night. Despite the stories and media outlets going crazy over a very dull subject, Clarke and Raven were having the time of their lives with the return of their best friend. Sure they had been busy with work, but they decided to reserve every night Octavia, specifically partying with Octavia. They didn’t see their best friend a lot, so when she was in town they spent as much time with her as possible. Going to clubs, eating out, catching up on the latest adventures within their lives, or simply gossiping about how hot one person was over the other. Some of the activities they participated in were fun, but others they simply dreaded, specifically Clarke.

Octavia had dragged Clarke out of her apartment to go and work out. Clarke was pissed. Not only did she miss out on her daily dose of coffee, but Raven had eaten the last of the blueberry muffins from her favorite bakery. Getting forced to go to the gym didn’t make her day any better.

“O, I know we haven’t hung out in a long time, but couldn’t we have done something a little less exasperating?” Clarke panted.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Just because the only physical activity you do is between the sheets doesn’t mean you can deprive the rest of us from coming to the gym.”

Clarke groaned. “We could have gone shopping or even to the spa. Just think! Facials, hot masseuses, so much more relaxing than killing myself on a treadmill!

“Clarke, this didn’t happen by accident.” Octavia said as she showed off her toned body.

Clarke glared at her. “I hate you.”

“You love me! You’ll thank me later when someone gets to see your fit naked body.”

“Please don’t ever say that again.” Clarke said, her face scrunched up in discomfort.

She wasn’t necessarily out of shape, but running was definitely not something she would choose to do for fun.

Octavia held her hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just saying, you need to ask out Commander Hearteyes before someone else takes her off the market.”

Clarke gave her friend a confused look. “Who?”

“Lexa!” Octavia stated as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Commander Hearteyes? What does that even mean?”

“Are you blind? Before you even walked over to her at my party she kept looking at you like you put the moon and the stars in the sky.”

“No she wasn’t. She didn’t even see me until I walked over to her. Also, where did the Commander part come from?”

“Lincoln said that’s what people in the precinct call her.”

Clarke smirked. “You and Lincoln must have hit off.”

Octavia smiled as she remembered her short conversation with the tall, tanned man. “We did, but stop trying to change the subject. You think that Lexa didn’t notice you right away but coming from me, she was giving you hearteyes the entire night. And so were you.”

Clarke scoffed. “We were just talking. No hearteyes. None.”

“Oh, really? Because from what Raven and I could see, you two were pretty deep into the flirting stage.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. It was annoying that her best friends spent their time teasing her about the Lexa situation, or any part of her dating life. Despite her annoyance with her friends, Clarke couldn’t deny that everything they had said was true.

“So, have you asked her out yet? Or has she asked you?”

Clarke huffed. “Every time I want to ask her she gets called away or you and Raven butt in.”

“I can’t help the fact that she’s drop dead gorgeous. Or that Raven calls her Detective Hot Stuff.”

“Hot Stuff? Really guys?”

Octavia shrugged. “But you do like her, right?”

“I mean, I barely know her.” Clarke said as she rubbed her forehead. “But there’s just something about her that I just feel drawn to.”

Octavia smirked. “Are you sure that’s not your libido speaking?”

“Don’t be crude. Lexa is a mystery. A beautiful one, but one that I would like to know more about.”

“Wow,” Octavia slowly started to clap her hands. “That was poetic Griffin. You really need to get laid.”

“I’m serious.” Clarke said as she lightly shoved her best friend.

“So am I!” Octavia said as she looked around the gym. “But if you and this Lexa thing aren’t happening any time soon, then it’s time to continue your search.”

“Search for what?”

“Um, future Mr. Griffin or Mrs. Grifinn, whichever. You don’t seem too picky.”

“I feel like that was supposed to be an insult, O.”

“Oh, yeah, it was.” Octavia said nonchalantly as she continued to scan the gym.

“What are you looking for?” Clarke asked looking quite confused.

“Her!” Octavia exclaimed.

Clarke started to look around the room as well. “Who?”

Octavia grabbed Clarke’s head and pointed in the direction of said woman who was towards the front of the gym.

She was dressed in a sports bra and leggings that showed off her toned body, her hair tied in a tight ponytail. The woman’s back was towards, her face out of Clarke’s view. Despite not being able to see the woman’s face, Clarke’s attention was drawn to the intricate tattoo that extended from the top of her neck to the end of her lower back. The lines and circles of the design had Clarke itching to sketch it. She had never seen something so beautiful.

“You’re starting to drool, Griffin.”

Clarke snapped out of her trance-like state and glared at Octavia. “I was not.”

“Hey, I’m not judging you. She’s pretty hot.”

“You’re straight.”

Octavia scoffed. “I can appreciate a woman’s appearance. Especially when that woman looks like a Greek goddess.”

“Now who’s drooling.” Clarke teased.

“It was just an observation. She looks like a trainer. Maybe she can get you to do something more athletic.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “I will admit that she looks somewhat attractive.”

“Somewhat? Come on Clarke! She’s so your type.”

“Debatable.”

“Just go talk to her.”

“No!”

“Fine, let’s leave then.” Octavia began to gather her things by the machine she had just been using.

“Fine.” Clarke responded as she grabbed her water bottle and phone.

The two friends made their way towards the front of the gym, getting closer to the hot stranger that Clarke had been ogling. Before they made it to the exit, though, Octavia pushed Clarke into the trainer and sprinted out the door.

“Ooof.”

 _You little shit._ Clarke thought. “I am so sorry.” Clarke apologized. “I didn’t mean…”

“No harm done.” The stranger said as she turned towards Clarke.

_That voice!_

“Lexa?”

Clarke soon came face to face with the woman that she had been thinking about over the past few days.

Lexa smiled. “Clarke!”

Clarke swooned at the way the brunette said her name.

“Fancy seeing you again. I’m starting to think you might be following me.”

Clarke laughed. “Are you sure it’s not the other way around?”

“Touché.” Lexa replied. “How’ve you been? Hospital keeping you pretty busy?”

“I’m good. Just keeping everyone put together stitch by stitch.” Clarke mentally face-palmed. _Was that supposed to be a joke?_

But to her surprise Lexa laughed. “I would hope so.”

“What about you? Stop any other party crashers in the last few days?” Her eyes began to wander up and down Lexa’s body until they stopped at her abs. Her lean fit abs.

“I had a few crazed paparazzi here and there, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Clarke nodded her head not really having paid attention to Lexa’s response. She was too transfixed on Lexa’s abs, wetting her lips subconsciously. She didn’t look away until she asked another stupid question.

“What brings you to the gym?” _Really Griffin. It’s a gym. Where people come to work out. And get fit. Really fit. And hot._ “I mean, besides working out, or whatever it is you do here.” _Smooth._

Lexa chuckled. “I actually got done teaching my self-defense class.”

_Is there anything that this woman doesn’t do?_

“Self-defense? Sounds interesting.”

“Oh, it’s very serious stuff.” Lexa said jokingly. “I teach almost every Saturday. It’s a great stress reliever and I’m given back to the community.”

“That’s great!” Clarke smiled. “Maybe you can teach me sometime?”

Lexa was a bit surprised to hear this. She didn’t really take the blonde doctor as the atheletic type, but who was she to judge. The opportunity to finally get to spend some time with Clarke was just hitting her in the face. All she had to do was agree. Maybe the universe didn’t hate her as much as she thought.

Without too much hesitation Lexa happily obliged. “I don’t see why not. Have you ever done a self-defense class?”

“I haven’t even tried yoga or that Zumba dancing thing. I don’t go to the gym that often.” Clarke said sheepishly.

Lexa smiled. “No worries. If it makes you feel any better, we can always have a private lesson. Just the two of us.”

Clarke perked up at the idea of being alone with brunette instead of surrounded by other sweaty bodies.

“I mean, if that works for you.” Lexa stuttered. “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable being by yourself. Or you can just take the class with everyone else. Maybe that’s better. But it’s really up to you…”

Clarke couldn’t help but chuckle. Now the brunette was the one babbling. It was cute.

“Lexa, one-on-one training is probably better.”

Lexa seemed to physically relax at Clarke’s answer.

“Besides,” Clarke continued. “I don’t really want to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone.”

“It’s not as hard as you may think. Besides, you have one of the best trainers here willing to teach you.” Lexa winked. _Seriously a wink, Wood!_

“I don’t doubt that you’re the best here Detective.” Clarke laughed as something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

She looked to the gym exit and could see Octavia peeking through the door. Clarke simply glared at her as Octavia gave her a thumbs up and disappeared again.

“Was that Octavia?” Lexa asked, gaining Clarke’s attention again.

“Yeah, it was. We were working out earlier.”

“I’m guessing she was signaling you to hurry this conversation up?” Lexa said rubbing the back of her neck.

“No, no, ” Clarke said hastily. “She was just being her usual self.”

Lexa looked a little confused.

“Ummm, she’s actually the reason I bumped into you.”

“Is she now? Were you just going to walk out of here without saying hi?” Lexa smirked.

“In my defense, I didn’t know it was you when we first saw you.” Clarke said sarcastically.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you guys from your plans for the rest of the day.” Lexa said.

“It’s fine. We’re just going to meet up with Raven after she’s done with her project and hang out.”

Lexa smiled. “Sounds fun. Speaking of Raven, my department could really use her help on a case. Do you mind giving me her contact information?”

Clarke shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Just don’t let Raven text you at ungodly hours. She seems to do that a lot.”

Lexa chuckled as she followed Clarke to the front desk. Clarke took a small flyer from the counter and a pen, scribbling down a few things before handing it to Lexa.

“Thanks. I’m hoping that Raven can give us a hand with my case.” She looked down at the paper noticing another number written in the bottom corner. “What’s the other number for?”

Clarke smiled. “That’s my number. You know, to let me know when you’re free to teach me some self-defense.”

“Am I only allowed to use it when I have a class coming up?” Lexa joked.

“You can do with it as you please, Detective. I think it’s only fair that you have my number since I have yours.”

Lexa nodded. “Yeah, you know, I never got a call from that beautiful blonde woman I gave my card to outside the hospital.”

Clarke laughed. “A beautiful blonde? Well, she doesn’t know what she’s missing. But I’m always willing to pick up if you need another blonde to talk to.”

Lexa smiled. “I’ll hold you to that Clarke.”

There was a knocking on the gym door as Octavia beckoned Clarke outside.

“I better go before she makes me do anything else embarrassing.”

“Yeah, I have to get into the station later tonight. Finish up some paperwork and what not.”

“I’ll see you around?” Clarke asked as she partially opened the front door.

“I look forward to it.” Lexa said smiling.

“Bye, Lexa.”

“Bye, Clarke.”

And with that the blonde disappeared from the building. Lexa walked back into the classroom where she had taught her class and went straight to her gym bag searching for her phone. She entered both numbers on the flyer into her phone, checking to make sure that she had entered Clarke’s correctly.

Lexa was feeling a myriad of emotions. She had just gotten Clarke’s number! She was acting like a teenager who finally got their crush to acknowledge their existence. It was a bit overwhelming and a bit embarrassing if she was being honest. But in this moment, she didn’t care. The blonde was all she could think about since that night at Octavia’s premiere party and no matter what she did, the blonde was always on her mind. She still didn’t know that much about Clarke besides the fact that she was a beautiful doctor who always seemed to make adorable jokes, even if they weren’t that funny. But despite not knowing her that well, Lexa was drawn to her. She knew that Clarke felt it too.

It was both an odd and exciting feeling. A feeling that Lexa wanted to uncover. A feeling that she hadn’t felt in a long time. A feeling that was not going away any time soon.

* * *

 

 Lexa strode into the bullpen of the 13th Police Precinct to complete and utter chaos. Phones were ringing off the hooks as detectives and other uniforms were scattered about. It looked as if a tornado had blown through the room. There was constant yelling all around, and it wasn’t coming from those who had been detained.

Lexa quickly made her way to her desk dodging bodies left and right. She had stepped right into Armageddon. She finally made it to her desk that was overflowing with files and documents, most of which she suspected did not belong to her. Looking around for Anya, or Lincoln or anyone on her team there was a loud hush that fell over the room. All activity and movement came to a standstill as Indra confronted everyone.

“As you may have heard, DA Jaha has gone missing.”

There were a few murmurs here and there until it delved back into silence with the clearing of Indra’s throat.

“Because he went missing within our parameters, we are the precinct in charge of this case. We will have assistance from other precincts around the city but ultimately this falls on our shoulders. Jaha is our number one priority. Despite Jaha’s disappearance, I want everyone to continue working on their respective cases.”

Everyone nodded their head in agreement.

“I have assigned an elite task force to handle Jaha’s case. I will keep everyone updated as the case progresses. Even though the task force’s main job will be about Jaha, I encourage everyone to keep their eyes open and minds sharp. Anything you find involving DA Jaha will be of use to us.”

Again, everyone simply nodded their heads.

“Now!” Indra barked. “Get back to work!”

The bullpen submerged back into a flurry of busy activity as everyone went their separate ways.

Lexa set her belongings down on her cluttered desk, hoping that it would be clear after she met up with Indra. She walked into her office to find Anya, Lincoln, and Miller already there.

“Glad of you to join us Commander.” Anya said sarcastically.

“I would have been here sooner if I didn’t have to fight my way through a throng of people.” Lexa remarked. “So what’s with this elite task force?”

“You’re looking at ‘em.” Lincoln said.

Lexa raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you’re putting me on this?” The question was mainly directed at Indra who had taken a sit behind her desk.

“Yes, I am.” Indra simply stated. “You’re one of my best detectives, Woods.”

“Well, of course I am.” Anya said jokingly.

Indra simply glared at her.

Anya cleared her throat. “Sorry, Mom. I mean Captain.”

Lexa rolled her eyes. It was always confusing with three people with the same last name working at the same place. Despite working with her cousin and aunt, Lexa wasn’t going to get put on a case when she had the Murphy case to work on.

“Indra! I have so many other cases to work on!” Lexa protested.

“I don’t care. Jaha is your number one priority. Plus, I don’t think you’ve been assigned to any cases.”

Anya gave Lexa a knowing look reminding her that Murphy’s case wasn’t hers anymore. Again, if Indra found out it would be both their asses on the line, family or not.

“Right, of course.” Lexa stated.

Indra took a deep breath. “Nia Queen will be holding a press conference later tonight. I expect both you and Anya to take point on this. Check out Jaha’s place and go see Queen tomorrow. See if she knows anything about who would want to take Jaha.”

Lexa made a few notes in her small notebook that she kept in her back pocket as Indra continued speaking.

“Barrows and Miller, I want you to canvas the area where Jaha was last seen and man the phones. Look into every tip that gets called into the precinct. If something comes up that you think is relevant, notify me immediately.”

Lincoln and Miller nodded their heads in agreement.

“Any questions?” Indra asked the group.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.

"Dismissed.” Indra said getting back to the massive stack of files on her desk.

As the group left the office, Lincoln and Miller left the two Woods detectives in search of Jaha’s last whereabouts.

“So, where do you want to start?” Anya asked Lexa as they walked to their desks, which had indeed been cleared of all unnecessary files.

“We’ll see if we can get into Jaha’s place tonight. Otherwise we’ll have to wait until morning.”

“You’re hoping we won’t get access tonight.”

Lexa looked at her confused. “What do you mean?”

“I know you just want to work on the Murphy case.” She gave Lexa a pointed look.

“I’ve got a really solid lead though.” Lexa said strongly.

Anya huffed. “What’s this solid lead?”

Lexa was quiet. She didn’t necessarily have a lead but once she made a few phone calls, she knew she was bound to come up with something.

“That’s what I thought.” Anya took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t see what you’re trying to get out of this Lexa. Miller and Lincoln can handle this. Just let it go.”

Lexa rolled her eyes. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Anya perked up at this.

“Give me the rest of the night to look some stuff over. Let me make a few phone calls and see what I can dig up. If I don't find anything, I'll immediately drop the case and leave it for Lincoln and Miller to work on. I’m asking you to give me until the end of the day tomorrow.” Lexa pleaded.

Anya wasn’t happy with the fact that Lexa wouldn’t give up on this case. She admired the drive and determination, but it also made Lexa do some stupid shit sometimes. And when Lexa did stupid shit, Anya was always caught up in the middle of it.

“Fine!” Anya relented. “I’ll let you chase your damn, whatever you want to call it.”

Lexa smiled and pumped her fist in the air.

"Childish.” Anya said rolling her eyes. “I’ll go call the judge’s office for that warrant. Then, I’m out of here.”

Anya got up from leaning on Lexa’s desk and grabbed her stuff from her desk. She picked up her cell phone and dialed the judge’s office, putting the phone to her ear as she made her way to the elevator.

“Thanks, An!” Lexa yelled after her cousin.

Anya simply replied with her middle finger.

Lexa pulled out Murphy’s file from one of the drawers in her desk, looking around to make sure Indra was nowhere in sight. She glanced over it for a minute before picking up her phone and calling a number.

“This is Detective Woods,” she said into the receiver. “I have a proposal for you.”

* * *

 

Clarke was getting the apartment ready for the girl’s night in her, Raven, and Octavia were going to have. She had a pile of movies ready to go and Netflix queued up if they wanted to choose from there. Raven and Octavia were currently out picking up who knows what kind of food; they always went over the top, bringing back an assortment of different food that always seemed to go together. The TV was currently airing the local news: the current weather, what to look forward to in the coming week, and so on.

Clarke wasn’t really paying attention until one of the anchor’s quickly announced that Nia Queen was making a statement about Thelonious Jaha. She hadn’t heard that name in years. Sure she’d read it every now and then, but never over the local television news. Clarke stopped adding blankets and pillows to the living room area and sat on the couch to watch the broadcast.

Nia Queen came into focus on the screen, standing at a podium rife with various microphones. Her light brown hair was up in a tight bun and her light grey suit was firmly pressed. She had a cold hard stare, ignoring all of the shouts from the reporters present in the crowd. She was flanked by what appeared to be other employees from the District Attorney’s office and a few bodyguards.

_Good evening citizens of Los Angeles.” Nia’s tone was void of emotions. She was all business._

Clarke sat up straighter, not really knowing what to expect from the ADA.

_“As many of you have heard, District Attorney Thelonious Jaha has been missing since earlier today.”_

_Cameras continued to flash as the crowd whispered and talked amongst themselves._

Clarke’s eyes were beginning to water.

_“The DA’s office is working closely with the 13 th Precinct to find those responsible for the disappearance of DA Jaha. We will keep the public updated and ask for everyone’s help in this matter. I will now take a few questions.”_

_The crowd went wild with shouts of the ADA’s last name and a copious amount of questions directed her way._

Clarke turned the TV off, unable to hear anything else. How could this have happened? Tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away but was unable to keep them at bay. It had been years since she had seen Jaha, but she would never forget the father of her late best friend. She didn’t want to think about the past or the memories that seemed to come flooding back. Her heart couldn’t take it; there was too much pain and she just wanted to switch it off.

Reaching for the business card on the coffee table in front of her she looked it over before sending out a text to the number printed on it.

 **Clarke:** Hi. It’s Clarke.

 **Unknown:** I’m glad you finally used my number, Doctor Griffin. Feeling lonely tonight?

 **Clarke:** What do you know about Jaha’s case, Lexa?

Clarke wanted to get straight to the point. Of course Lexa was going to be flirty, but she wasn’t in the mood. If Lexa’s precinct was working on the case, she wanted to get as much information out of the brunette that she could. The flirting could wait another day or two.

 **Lexa:** I’m not sure what you mean. My precinct is working on it, but we don’t have much.

 **Clarke:** Jaha is a friend. A family friend. I just want to make sure he’s ok.

Tears hit her screen as she sent Lexa the next text. She shouldn’t be this upset, but there was a reason she didn’t like talking about her past.

 **Lexa:** My team and I are doing all that we can right now, Clarke. I can’t give you too much information because it’s an ongoing investigation.

Clarke’s sadness slowly turned into anger. It seemed dumb for her to feel anger towards something the brunette couldn’t control, but her emotions were going unchecked. What was the point in knowing someone in the police force if they couldn’t even give her some simple facts? Before she could send out her response she received another text from the brunette detective.

 **Lexa:** I understand what it’s like to not have answers. But believe me when I say that I will do everything I can to find him. Trust me.

 _Trust me._ Clarke read that part of the text over and over. Lexa was asking her to trust her. She barely knew the brunette, but every time they were in the same room or happened to bump into each other, she felt safe. Being around Lexa was like a breath of fresh air, air that Clarke didn’t want to be kept away from. The whirlwind of emotions inside of her was on a rampage, but deep down she knew that Lexa would do anything to see justice done. Lexa would be able to find the answers to her questions. And Lexa would be there for her.

 **Clarke:** I do trust you Lexa. I just want Jaha to be safe.

 **Lexa:** I’ll keep you updated with as much as I can, Clarke.

 **Clarke:** Thank you. Good night, Lexa.

 **Lexa:** Sweet dreams, Clarke.

Clarke’s tears had yet to stop and when Octavia and Raven made their way into their apartment they knew something was up. Clarke didn’t stay to talk to them or give them a second glance as she quickly walked to her room and locked the door. She crashed on her bed and ignored the incessant knocking from Octavia and Raven. She felt exhausted and her eyes had become very heavy from all the crying. Clarke drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with memories of when she was younger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't really mean this to be kind of a cliff-hanger but the next chapter will pick up right where this one left off.
> 
> Again! I am absolutely horrible at updating in a timely manner. I'm graduating college! I have to get that dumb little piece of paper I spent thousands of dollars on, which in turn leaves me little time to write. But as I stated in my notes last chapter, I have an outline for the next few chapters. I just need to find time to sit my ass down and write it!
> 
> Also, it doesn't help that I'm working on another Clexa AU story that takes time away from this one. I won't post my other one until it's COMPLETELY finished, but if you want a quick overview of it just hit me up on Tumblr or whatever.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for sticking with this story!


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